Shadow and Flame
by FivebyFive89
Summary: Sequel to 'Don't fear the Reaper' Cat, Tara, and the Scoobs are settling into life in Cleveland when they catch wind of some kind of monster stalking the streets of a night. Cue Scooby research sessions and monster bashing time! All Scoobs OC AU season 8
1. Prologue

**You may have noticed I suck at summaries… So anyway, here it is! The sequel! I hope to see you all enjoy it and stick with me to the end ^^**

It was late when twenty-something Ethan Miller left the restaurant through the rear staff door, stepping out of the uncomfortable heat of the kitchen and into the cool night air. The smell of frying food turned into the smell of grease and garbage, the clamour of clattering pans and hissing oil into the muted rush of late night traffic. He paused in the alley way as the door swung closed behind him, latched with a thud and a click, and rummaged in his rucksack a moment before pulling out his iPod and stuffing it into his hoodie pocket. He zipped up the front pouch of his bag, swung the rucksack up onto one shoulder and started walking, shivering as a gust of wind blew up the alley way, disturbing litter that had tumbled from the overfull dumpster further down, while untangling the wires of his iPod earphones.

As he left the gloomy alley for the humming orange glow of streetlights beyond he pushed the earphones into his ears and hit play on his iPod, stuffing his hands into his hoodie pocket and hunching his shoulders against the cold.

That day at work had been long and tiring, with the lunch time rush never seeming to end, blending seamlessly with the dinner time rush. He was exhausted and could think only of reaching his tiny apartment and falling into bed, sleeping until he had to get up the following day and repeat the tiresome grind once more. And all for minimum wage. Such was life.

He decided to cut through several back streets in the hope of halving the time it would take him to walk home. No one was about at this hour, he had no worries of being mugged or anything stupid like that. He was young, and strong. Invincible.

He entered an alley not ten minutes from his apartment. It was dark, lit midway by a streetlight that flickered on and off, the dim orange cone sputtering in the gloom like a strobe. But it was never really dark in the city, he could see well enough.

Ethan ploughed onwards, indifferent. He felt the skin at the back of his neck prickle, every hair on his body standing to attention in warning. Behind him came the clatter of metal on concrete. He halted and tugged on the wire of his earphones, pulling them free of his ears as he turned towards the sound. A dented soda can rattled over uneven ground towards him, most likely shunted along by the wind. Summer was long since over now, the wind held a hint of Winter's bite, gusted stronger, sharper.

He turned back the way he had been heading and prepared to put his earphones back into his ears when he heard a noise from ahead. The crunch of loose concrete underfoot. He felt eyes on him. But he was alone. …Right…?

He lowered the earphones, peering straight ahead, but the intermittent glare of the broken streetlight made it hard to penetrate the gloom at the far end of the alley. As the light blinked out, he thought he saw shadows move, edging towards him. The light snapped back on. Nothing.

"Who's there?" He demanded, voice much calmer and braver than he currently felt. His heart leaped into his throat at the answering hiss, like some kind of serpentine laughter. Something was definitely there.

Ethan abandoned masculine bravado in favour of running for his life. He turned on his heels and fled back the way he had come, towards the street. Just before he reached the pavement, something closed around his ankles and pulled hard. His feet left the ground and he fell face forwards, striking his jaw on the ground and seeing stars as he was dragged backwards by something with incredible strength. He twisted wildly, lashing backwards with his heels to try and free himself. Just as he took in a great lungful of air to scream for help he was thrown onto his back and a cold hand clamped down on his throat with monstrous strength, choking off the shout. He clawed desperately at the arm pinning him down, fingernails slipping over bare pale skin and the faded black ink of some tribal tattoo.

Further along the alley the light blinked on and Ethan froze.

Above him, stinking of filth and decay, loomed a man, grinning wildly and clearly mad.

And those eyes.

Those eyes weren't human.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well,** _ **Don't fear the Reaper**_ **was about a year in the making, and it almost never got here due to a hard drive fail midway through, but luckily it was rescued and posted and towards the end I realized I didn't want to shelf Cat and so here we are again!**

 **Edit: Re-uploaded because I forgot FFnet takes out the symbols I use as 'scene breaks' and have to be replaced with lines! (Y)**

* * *

 _Rigel stared up at Cat, breathing hard, face streaked with dirt and sweat. The piercing blue eyes were dull now, dieing._

 _She reached down and closed a fist around the handle of her sword, raised it from the ground above her head with both hands, trained the tip over his heart._

 _"No clever last words?" Rigel forced out through grit teeth._

 _"I have nothing to say." Cat told him, and brought her weapon down._

 _Cold hands closed around her throat and whipped her round. Rigel. Again. Dragging her so close their noses touched. She kicked her feet and grabbed at his hands, sword clattering uselessly to the ground._

 _"You ruined everything!" He snarled in her face. Cat couldn't breathe and her vision began to go black around the edges. "You couldn't just_ _ **not**_ _follow orders for once in your pathetic life?!" She clawed at his face desperately, straining to suck in the tiniest amount of oxygen. His skin was hard and cold and pale, his eyes milky, dead. "Or just wait your turn to_ _ **die**_ _?!" Cat felt a punch to the gut, felt the sword tear through her-_

She woke with a yelp, sitting bolt upright in bed. She felt cold and clammy, her skin wet with a cold sweat. Her heart hammered against her ribs and she gasped for breath. She hunched over and closed her eyes, fingers pushing through damp hair.

Nightmare…

She glanced to her right, keen grey eyes penetrating the gloom of the night to read the luminous green numbers on the face of her alarm clock. She scowled as she saw it was only just after seven a.m. She had been asleep less than an hour, having trudged through the door of her apartment shortly after six, following the graveyard shift at the local hospital working security. Nothing much ever happened, but pay was pretty good.

She flopped backwards and lay staring up at the ceiling of her bedroom, wide awake after having her dreams disturbed by Rigel. Again. The events that had taken place in England the previous month had clearly unsettled her. After all, she had killed plenty of demons, but never a human. If a soul reaper even classed as human any more. She wasn't sure. She should ask Giles for his opinion on that…

Rigel had been a friend. They had lost contact for years, but he had been a friend. And she had killed him. Granted, he had turned into an evil psychopath intent on unleashing Hell on Earth, but still… He hadn't been a demon and she had known him. She had been staring into his eyes as she rammed her sword through his heart. And he had gutted her, which, she supposed, she kind of deserved for killing him.

She turned her head lazily and glanced back over at her alarm clock.

7:12.

She was due at Buffy's place around nine to hang out with Tara and Dawn while Buffy and Willow went off to work. She might as well get up now, it wasn't like she would get any more sleep.

With a sigh, Cat kicked off the bed covers and rolled out of bed. Bare feet hit bare wood and she sat up, yawning widely and stretching her arms above her head to work out some of the stiffness in her muscles from her short and restless sleep. She stood up and went to the window, drawing back the curtains to let the early morning gloom lighten up the bedroom somewhat, peering out at the sky suspiciously. It didn't look like rain, at least. But it would be chilly out.

Pleased with her morning weather report, Cat left her room and entered the bathroom to freshen up with a shower before heading out to the Summers/Rosenberg/Maclay household.

* * *

"I woke up and you weren't there." Tara knew without looking her girlfriend's lower lip would be protruding in a good-natured pout. "I missed my morning snuggles." Strong arms wrapped around her stomach in a warm embrace and Willow rested her chin on Tara's shoulder, peering curiously into the sizzling frying pan Tara was stood over, silicone turner at the ready. A mug of tea sat on the counter at her elbow, next to a jug of pancake mixture. Willow smelled jasmine green as the steam curled up from Tara's mug.

"I wanted to make you breakfast." Tara said giving a crooked smile and flipping the pancake in the pan. "Made funny shapes and everything."

"It's a heart!" Willow cried excitedly with a grin.

"Aha. Well. Kind of." Tara said. "I was experimenting."

"I love it." Willow pressed a kiss to her cheek and then bounced off to get herself a glass of orange juice.

Tara pulled out the plate of pancakes she had made for Willow from beneath the grill where they were keeping warm, tipped the latest one onto the plate and brought it over to the island as Willow was sitting down with her orange juice, a bottle of maple syrup and a tub of butter.

"Breakfast is served." Tara said, putting the plate down in front of her with a flourish.

"You're the best!" Willow beamed at her, reaching up for another kiss.

"No smoochin' in ma kitchen." Buffy teased them as she entered the kitchen, dressed in black trousers and a white blouse with her school ID card clipped to her waistband. She had acquired a job with the local high school as a student councillor, using her (little) experience at Sunnydale High to land the job.

"You're just jealous." Willow announced smugly as Tara smiled at Buffy and moved back over to the cooker.

"Yes, I am now gay." Buffy replied, deadpan.

"Pancakes?" Tara offered, lifting the jug of pancake mix. She had made up enough for everyone to have a few for breakfast.

"Ooh! Yes please!" Buffy said, dropping into the chair opposite Willow. "Smells great." She told her red headed friend, hungrily eyeing up the three pancakes on her plate. Willow gave her a suspicious look and put an arm protectively in front of her breakfast.

Tara made a second batch of pancakes and set them down in front of Buffy, who immediately tucked in with a moan of delight.

"Isho good!" She said around a mouthful. Tara flashed a crooked grin and sat beside Willow with her mug of tea, cradling it in both hands.

"Have you eaten?" Willow asked Tara, glancing sideways at her. Tara smiled and nodded.

"I had some toast earlier." She said. "I'll go and get washed and dressed in a bit so I'm ready for when Cat gets here."

"Yeah, getting Dawn out of bed is a two man job." Buffy joked, and then frowned. "Two woman job…?"

"Tara's definitely a woman." Willow said with a smirk. Tara playfully bumped her shoulder against Willow's and raised an eyebrow at her as Buffy looked up at them both.

"You guys should not be allowed at the table."

* * *

The doorbell in the Summers household rang right on time. Tara was just leaving the kitchen, drying her hands on a tea towel, when Dawn came thundering down the stairs, tugging on a zip-up hoodie as she did.

"I'll get it!" She cried, skidding to a halt in front of the door and swinging it open wide to reveal a bemused Cat stood on the other side, thumbs hooked into her belt loops.

"Ah, Dawn. I thought an elephant was coming to answer the door." She greeted the teen, who simply grinned and stepped aside for the shorter woman to enter.

"Hi! How are you?" She asked, closing the door behind Cat as the reaper stepped over the threshold, nodding a greeting to Tara who stood behind Dawn.

"Good thanks. You?"

"Brilliant!" Dawn beamed at her. "Tara's agreed we can go to the mall together today!"

"The mall?"

"I'll just go finish washing up…" Tara scooted back into the kitchen.

"Aha! Isn't that great?" Dawn gushed, dragging Cat into the living room to wait for Tara to finish. "We haven't been shopping together in _ages_."

"Yay…" Cat feigned excitement as she perched on the edge of the sofa. The last shopping trip she had taken with Dawn had resulted in her traipsing after the teen for the best part of a day, lugging bags of shopping that Dawn couldn't carry herself as she had bought half the contents of the building. Or so it had seemed to Cat.

"I'm going to grab my purse, don't leave without me!" Dawn said, and rushed off back upstairs to her bedroom. Tara emerged from the kitchen and stood in the living room doorway. Cat looked up at her, grey eyes playful despite the scowl on her face.

"I hate you."

Tara offered a sloped smile in response and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'll buy you Oreos if you behave."

"Deal."

* * *

The mall was surprisingly busy considering it was a Thursday morning. This had not deterred Dawn at all, who seemed to be an expert at darting between customers and clothes rails and disappearing, leaving Tara and Cat to bumble after her. Cat had already knocked over a display of T-shirts and ran away to leave Tara behind to face the consequences, forfeiting her promised Oreos.

"-I mean, does she really need like a bazillion pairs of jeans? Like…Really?" She demanded of Tara as they trailed behind the teen, a bag of shopping in each hand. Dawn skipped ahead of them, oblivious as she gazed at shop displays, searching for the next bargain.

"No, she doesn't." Tara shook her head, smiling to herself at Cat's grumbling. "But…Excessive shopping is what young girls are meant to do, so, let's let her act normal, yeah?"

Cat scoffed at that.

"I bet you can't wait to start at the library with Giles on Monday, so you can escape stuff like this." She said, gesturing towards Dawn with one bag.

"Well, I'm a bit worried about leaving Dawn alone for nine hours a day. You know how trouble follows her around…" Tara replied warily. Cat instantly felt guilty, glancing up first at Dawn, then sideways at Tara.

"Sorry, I'm just…bored." She frowned and rubbed her stomach as it rumbled loudly. "And kinda hungry…"

"We can stop for food in a bit if you want?" Tara suggested.

"Sure. And, hey, I can hang with Dawn if you want? While you're all at work during the day."

Tara smiled.

"I'm sure Dawn would like that." She said. "And it'd definitely make Buffy feel better, knowing someone was around to keep an eye on her. I know Dawn's almost an adult, but…"

"Like you said. Trouble follows her." Cat nodded in agreement.

In the month they had been back from England she had witnessed first-hand Dawn's capabilities at amassing trouble after the teen knocked over a potion Willow had been brewing and melted one of the kitchen chairs. Just one week after that incident Dawn had, on the way home from work, managed to walk straight into the middle of a vampire turf war. Buffy now insisted on meeting her sister for the walk home, much to Dawn's embarrassment.

They stopped for lunch a short while later (much to Cat's relief) and bought paninis and ice cream (and Cat's promised Oreos despite the display incident), watching the other patrons bustle busily around them until Dawn insisted they visit a couple more shops. Cat and Tara managed to convince her to leave a couple of hours later and they headed back to the Summers' household.

* * *

Cat helped Dawn upstairs with her vast collection of bags while Tara went into the kitchen to make them coffee and get started on dinner. Dawn pushed open her bedroom door and entered, dumping her bags on the bed and turning to face Cat with a grin as the reaper followed her in and over to the bed.

"You hate me right now, don't you?" She asked cheerfully.

"Well," Cat began slowly, dropping the bags she carried beside the ones Dawn had put on her bed, "spending all day at the mall isn't my ideal day out." She admitted.

"But you still came, which is pretty cool." Dawn said, emptying the first bag onto her bed and carrying the new clothes over to her wardrobe.

"Yup, that's me." Cat said, watching as Dawn hung up the clothes and went back to the bed, leaving the wardrobe doors open. "Do you even have room for all this?" She gestured to the mound of shopping.

"I'll make room." Dawn replied, admiring a new dress before hanging it up.

"I'm going to go see if Tara wants any help." Cat said, sensing Dawn would be a while. She received a non-committal grunt in response and left the room, leaving the door open.

Downstairs in the kitchen Tara had made three mugs of coffee and left them on the work surface as she rummaged in the fridge for ingredients to make dinner. Cat bounded in and made a B-line for the coffees, peering into them and seeing two with milk, one black. She took the black one and turned to face Tara, leaning back against the counter.

"You put sugar in Dawn's?" She asked, sipping from her mug.

"I did." Tara said, turning away from the fridge with an armful of food and back into the door to close it. She gave Cat a crooked smile, playful. "Don't tell Buffy."

"Hey, you peel Dawn off the ceiling before Buffy gets back and no one needs to know." She said. "What's for dinner?"

"I'm making chilli." Tara said, gesturing to the onions, peppers, and a pack of minced beef next to the stove.

"Ooh, yummy." Cat pushed off from the counter and started across the kitchen to Tara, who was pulling more ingredients out of cupboards and setting them down with the others. "Want help?"

"I'll be okay." Tara shook her head and smiled at Cat. "You go relax. You've had a difficult day." She teased. Cat arched one eyebrow at her.

"And you've been so supportive." She said with a grin. "I'll go relax right over there with the TV." She gestured out into the living room. "Thanks for the coffee by the way." She raised her mug on her way out.

"No problem." Tara said as Cat left the kitchen.

Dawn thundered down the stairs and into the kitchen, dancing past Tara to grab her mug of coffee, and dancing back out of the kitchen into the living room.

"… _Police are still searching for missing Ethan Miller, last seen leaving work more than a week ago…"_

Cat was sprawled across the sofa idly watching the evening local news, waiting for the next show to come on. She slid upright as she saw Dawn, making room for them both on the sofa.

"I swear someone goes missing every week here." Cat said. Dawn sat on the sofa beside the reaper and curled her legs beneath herself, cradling her coffee mug in both hands.

"It's not _that_ bad!" She grinned.

"I know, I know. I just wish the news would report something _happy_ for once. We get enough doom and gloom with the monthly apocalypse and stuff." Cat said.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it." Dawn rolled her eyes. "Giant snakes, super vamps, Hell dimensions. We've seen it all. Just a normal Tuesday in Sunnydale."

"We're not in Sunnydale anymore."

"Might as well be." Dawn grumbled. "There's no escaping being sister to the Chosen One."

"Chosen many, now." Cat quipped, taking a long sip of hot coffee.

"Which is great, but none of them are here." Dawn said. "You'd think with a world filled with newly awakened slayers a few could be spared to help out around here."

"Ah, but where's the fun in that?" Cat grinned at her.

"You're right. I do so love oiling the weapons and organising the magic cupboard." Dawn deadpanned.

"You forgot 'whittling stakes'." Tara said, entering the room from the kitchen. Dawn wrinkled her nose.

"I was trying to block it from my memory." She said, scooting up so Tara could join them on the sofa. "Dinner smells good."

"I made chilli." Tara said. "And there's more than enough to go round for when Giles and Xander inevitably turn up."

"I like it when Xander visits." Dawn announced, smiling to herself. "He brings doughnuts."

"I'm starting to wonder if I should bring something with me when I come over…" Cat said thoughtfully. "Like…Ice cream…"

"I will love you forever if you do." Dawn told her, deadly serious. Cat pouted at her.

"You mean you don't already?"

"Ice cream or no, you're always welcome here." Tara said, leaning forwards slightly to be seen around Dawn. "I mean, it's not my house, but-"

"It's true." Dawn nodded emphatically.

"I don't think it's really your house either, Dawn…" Cat teased. Dawn fixed her with a faux cool stare, which Cat returned with a mischievous smirk.

* * *

Buffy and Willow arrived home from work shortly after six O'clock and called greetings out to Tara, Dawn, and Cat. From the kitchen, Tara heard Buffy's light footsteps dashing up the stairs to the first floor of the house, presumably to her bedroom to change out of her work clothes before dinner.

She checked the oven timer to see how much longer the rice was going to take cooking, then gave her faintly bubbling chilli con carne a stir with the wooden spoon to make sure it wasn't sticking to the bottom of the pan.

She heard footsteps behind her, identifying them immediately as Willow's, heard the rustle of smart black trousers and crisp white shirt that the redhead wore to work, and then strong arms were circling her stomach from behind, squeezing lightly, and a chin was resting on her shoulder.

Tara smiled at the similarity from breakfast earlier that day and released the wooden spoon to place both hands over Willow's on her stomach.

"How was work?" She asked, leaning her head against Willow's.

"I had to debug some guy's laptop after he seriously infected it with porn…"

"That bad, huh?" Tara offered a sloped grin.

"It got better." Willow replied happily, pulling away from her girlfriend. Tara turned to face her and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Go change, dinner will be soon." She said. Willow obediently turned around and bounded out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

The oven timer beeped, announcing dinner was ready. Tara turned and pressed the button to acknowledge it, stopping the beeping, and turned off the heat. She was just approaching the sink with a sieve in one hand and the saucepan containing the rice in the other when Dawn entered the kitchen, attracted by the sound of the timer.

"Hey, I'll help plate up." She said. "I think Buffy's going to start chewing on the furniture if we don't get food out quick." Tara raised her eyebrows, tipping the rice into the sieve and shaking it to make sure the excess water drained completely.

"Um, wow, okay…" She said. "Plates are warming under the grill. I still need to cut up some baguettes and there's a tub of grated cheese in the fridge." She dumped the rice back in its saucepan, left the sieve in the washing up bowl and came back over to the oven to return the rice to its hob.

"I will cut bread." Dawn decided finally. She was less likely to cause havoc with that.

Five minutes later a plate of bread and bowl of grated cheese was on the table, and five plates of chilli and rice were ready on the kitchen work surface, steam curling upwards from each, scenting the kitchen with a warm spicy aroma.

Tara grabbed two plates and headed out of the kitchen towards the dining table.

"Okay, guys, dinner's ready, so get-oh…" She stopped as she saw Buffy, Willow and Cat were already sat in their places at the table, clutching their cutlery and watching her expectantly, and raised one amused eyebrow as all three eagerly eyed up the dinner, practically drooling. Buffy was halfway through what looked to be her second piece of bread.

She chuckled to herself and brought over the two plates, placing one in front of Buffy and one in front of Willow.

The doorbell rang then and Dawn streaked passed, yelling, "I'll get it!"

Skidding into the hall, she saw a familiar silhouette through the thick frosted glass panels in the upper half of the front door. She grinned as she opened the door to reveal Xander stood on the front porch, holding in one hand a large box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

He had been glancing out onto the street as he waited for the door to be answered, and turned his head to Dawn as she opened it and offered her a wide smile in greeting.

"Doughnuts!" Dawn cried excitedly, bouncing backwards to give him room to enter. "Come in! Tara's just dishing up dinner. We have chilli."

"Oh, hullo, Xander, nice to see you! How are you? I'm fine thanks, Dawnie, how are you?" Xander said good-naturedly as he stepped over the threshold and handed over his box of sugary delights to Dawn so he could bend down and unlace his heavy steel toe-capped work boots.

Dawn lifted the lid on the doughnuts to see what he had chosen for them. She didn't notice he had stepped out of his boots and hung his jacket on one of the hooks by the door until he had pushed the lid back down and taken the box back.

"They're for after dinner. Which smells great, by the way." He sniffed audibly. "And I don't smell burning. Tara made it, right?" He grinned playfully at her.

"I can cook." Dawn insisted, with only the hint of a whine in her voice. "Come on." She turned and rushed back through the house to the dinner table.

Xander followed her eagerly, trying to walk at a more sedate pace, but the food already had his mouth watering. Tara was just leaving the kitchen with a plate of food in one hand as he entered the dining area. He saw someone had already set a place for him at the table.

"Hi, guys." He called, ducking into the kitchen to put his box on the kitchen counter. He hurried back out to a chorus of hellos (spoken with full mouths) and dropped down into his chair.

"How is everyone?" He asked.

"Same as yesterday." Buffy quipped. "Have fun at the site?"

Xander wordlessly nodded as he hastily chewed on the large mouthful of meat sauce and rice he had just shoved into his mouth. He worked for a construction company currently erecting a block of flats on the edge of town.

"'S going well." He told Buffy. "It doesn't really look like a building yet, but it's going good."

"Will you get mate's rates or anything when it's done?" Cat asked in mock seriousness. "Because my apartment has leaky taps, keeps me up at night."

"What, are you closet OCD now?" Dawn teased. Cat pointed her fork at Dawn.

"Keep it up, kiddo, and I won't come over in the week to help you do housework while the others do real work." She warned playfully. Dawn pouted at her.

"Dawn! You asked Cat to do that?!" Buffy protested.

"Don't call me kiddo, you're not that much older than me!" Dawn carefully ignored her sister.

The doorbell rang once more as the dinner plates were being cleared away. Willow left the bustle in the kitchen as everyone vied to do their bit, going to the front door to answer it. She smiled as she saw who was stood waiting to be let in.

"Giles! Hi!" She said brightly, stepping aside for him.

"Evening, Willow." He responded in kind, entering and wiping his shoes on the inside door mat.

"You're just in time, actually. Xander bought doughnuts."

"Doesn't he always?" Giles asked, closing the door behind himself and raising one hand to show Willow the bunch of papers he held, stapled in one corner to keep them together. "I won't be staying long, I just need to get Tara to sign this ready for Monday. But…I wouldn't say no to a doughnut."

"And a cuppa tea, right?" Cat called out on hearing him. She popped her head around the doorway of the kitchen and grinned.

"Well, I suppose-"

"On it!" Buffy shouted from the kitchen before he could finish. Giles raised one eyebrow and allowed Willow to steer him into the living room. She pushed him onto the sofa and then turned to call over her shoulder.

"Tara! Giles wants you!"

Cat snorted.

"Well, that's a bit forward. Ow!"

"Dawn, don't hit guests." Buffy scolded.

"She's here _all_ the time."

" _So_ not bringing ice cream when I'm next here."

Willow rolled her eyes and headed back into the kitchen, just as Tara exited looking apologetic and rubbing her damp hands dry on a dish cloth, but Giles didn't seem fazed. He was used to the antics of the group by now.

"Hi, Giles." Tara said with a smile, sitting on the sofa beside him. "How can I help?" She lay the dish cloth on the coffee table in front of them, where Giles had set down his papers.

"We forgot to get you to sign this when you came in on Monday." He said, tapping the document. "It's nothing interesting, just induction things, health and safety et cetera, but it needs to be filed ready for when you start."

Tara nodded, looking briefly through the text.

Willow came in holding a tray almost buried beneath three mugs of tea, three plates of doughnuts, and a pen. She set the tray down on the coffee table, and then held out the pen to Tara with a flourish.

"Thanks, Will." Tara said, lips quirking up on one side as she took it from her girlfriend. She turned to the last page and was about to put pen to paper in a signature, when Willow dropped down on the sofa beside her.

"Did you read all the fine print?" The redhead asked.

"I doubt there's a hidden clause about them owning my soul for eternity." Tara teased her, though she paused before signing and looked up at Giles, clearly considering it. "Right…?" Giles smiled at her.

"Not that I'm aware of." He said. "I doubt the Public Library would have much use for souls."

"Can't be too careful in this day and age." Willow said almost haughtily.

"No." Tara agreed with her, bending over the paper and signing her name at the bottom of the page. She added the date, double checked she had done everything she needed to, and then handed over the paperwork to Giles.

"I'm off to work now, guys!" Cat called, waving as she passed through the living room on her way to the front door.

"If you wait a bit I can drive you?" Giles offered. She smiled and shook her head.

"Thanks, but I need to head home first." The opposite direction to Giles' home. "I'll probably be late if I don't go now." She said, going into the hall to pull on her coat and shoes. "I don't mind. You chill out."

"See you tomorrow?" Tara asked.

"Maybe." Cat said. "I'll call. Bye!"

They called goodbye, then the front door clicked shut and Cat was gone.

* * *

The light of the day was almost completely gone, just a faint glow on the horizon all that remained. Streetlights hummed and tinted the world orange.

Cat turned up the collar of her duster and stuffed her hands into her pockets as she walked. The air was cool, icy when the wind blew. Which it was doing pretty relentlessly, sending chills down her spine. Trees lined the streets, leaves turning golden as the months turned colder, rattling dryly as the breeze stirred the branches. Some were already falling and rustled as they were pushed along the pavement.

She made it home with plenty of time to spare and changed into her uniform for the hospital (black trousers, dark grey long-sleeved shirt, complete with silver high-vis strips, badge and radio) then stuffed money and a book into her rucksack for break time, pulled her coat and boots back on and slung the rucksack over one shoulder. She did a last minute check for phone and keys and then left the apartment.

Outside night had truly fallen. Cat hurried through the streets towards the hospital, eager to arrive before her shift started so she could leave her bag and coat in the staff locker room and speak with her colleague before they swapped out. She liked to get a heads up on any trouble makers that had been in during the day. Usually the shifts were quiet, but there was always the odd one or two.

As she walked she became aware of a prickling sensation at the back of her neck, crawling up and down her spine. Her subconscious telling her something was up. She reached out with her senses without slowing her pace, keen ears straining for anything that sounded out of place.

There. Behind her. Footsteps. Measured, near silent. Predatory…

Her right hand drifted down to her side, outwards as she prepared to summon her katana from the ether. Magic tingled in her fingertips, waiting to be unleashed.

Quick as that the feeling of being followed was gone. She stopped and turned to face the direction she had heard the footsteps. _Thought_ she had heard. Was she being paranoid? Perhaps her nightmare from that morning still had her on edge. Though, if that were the case, why had her reaper senses reacted to a threat?

Grey eyes scanned the shadows around her but found nothing. Passing it off as definitely of the weird but not necessarily worrying, Cat continued on her walk through the darkened streets of Cleveland, heading for the hospital.


	3. Chapter 2

Night gripped the city, painting it in deep black shadow and blazing orange artificial light. Electricity smudged the horizon with pale luminescence, almost ethereal, so that night was never truly dark, just as it was never truly quiet. In the distance, cars _swooshed_ faintly over tarmac damp from the days rain, accompanied every so often by the bump and rattle of a late night train or the wailing siren of an emergency vehicle rushing toward some crisis.

A city never slept.

And, Buffy was starting to believe, neither did she.

The slayer trudged gloomily through the streets of Cleveland trying to look more like a victim than a confident hunter in an effort to entice some foolhardy vampires from whatever hidey holes they were skulking down. She had cancelled on a night out with her friends at the local bar in favour of patrolling and so far had dusted a measly two vampires. She still had ash in her hair. So not worth it.

It was way past midnight by now. Everyone would long since have left for home. They would be tucked up cosy in their beds, fast asleep… Like Buffy would love to be right now. It had been a long week at work alone, combine that with patrolling every night…needless to say she was currently a very grumpy slayer.

Still, at least she had Saturday games night to look forwards to. It helped her unwind at the end of a difficult week. That, and she fully intended to win back her twenty dollars from Xander, lost playing poker the previous week.

She decided to do a sweep of the nearby cemetery (one of several in Cleveland that, like Sunnydale, she was becoming increasingly well acquainted with) to check for any newly risen vampires, and then head home. She turned the corner and made her way towards the cemetery, keeping to the shadows so that any prying eyes from the houses on the opposite side of the street would be blind to her. Not that anyone should be awake at such a time. Unless there were some serious party animals out there.

"Friday night and I'm visiting cemeteries dusting dead guys." Buffy grumbled, putting one hand on the chest-high iron railings that fenced in the cemetery grounds. She vaulted over easily and moved off across the grass without breaking stride.

Headstones loomed pale as ghosts in the gloom of the unlit cemetery, tall trees standing sentry at the far end. Wind rushed through their boughs with the sound of creaking wood and whispering leaves, hissed through the grass making it ripple like waves, and then pushed its icy fingers through Buffy's hair. She shivered and stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets, hunching her shoulders so the collar rode up and kept her neck warm. Giles would have yelled at her about making herself an easy target if he had been with her, a thought that amused her greatly for all of a minute because then her keen slayer senses homed in on something skulking behind what had once been a brilliant white prancing cherub statue and was now a mottled green and grey prancing cherub statue. The passage of time had done little to wear away the creepiness of it.

Still smirking over thoughts of Giles and his Watcherly ways, Buffy stalked forwards, reaching behind for the wooden stake stuffed into the back of her waistband. She kept her eyes on that shadow straight ahead, her other senses reaching out for signs of attack from other directions. As she inched forward she felt a ping from her spider sense. Behind and to the right, someone else was there, watching as she moved towards the statue.

Then suddenly the shadow burst free of its hiding place before her, arms spread wide and black cloak billowing.

"Behold! The majesty of Count Dracula!" His voice boomed throughout the silent cemetery. Buffy paused and took in the spectacle in bemusement.

He didn't look like a newly risen vampire. And he had gone to the trouble of acquiring a costume of sorts. Black skinny jeans, white pirate style shirt, black cloak with a stiff collar. He had his hungry face on, yellow eyes burning in the darkness.

"If you're going to impersonate someone, make sure your victim hasn't actually _met_ that someone." She told the vampire. His arms dropped to his sides and he deflated somewhat, taken aback by her cool attitude.

She heard grass rustle and turned her head towards the sound to see a second vampire step out of hiding. This one wore just jeans and a T-shirt. He was pale and handsome and seemed to be doing his best to appear brooding in his human form. And there was something else…

Buffy did a double take.

"Is that _body glitter_?"

"Maybe…" He replied cagily, and as she watched his smooth features morphed into the ridged brows and demonic yellow eyes of a vampire. His skin sparkled under the moonlight.

She said nothing for a moment. Then, "You look ridiculous."

"That doesn't matter. Chicks dig it." He told her, walking slowly forwards. His movements appeared casual, but Buffy knew he was moving in towards her, probing for a weakness. As he did so, she heard his friend doing the same on her blind side.

"I don't know," Buffy said, her stance relaxed as she shrugged. "I think I'm more of a Lestat kind of girl. Or maybe Louis." They moved closer, growing confident with her laidback manner, sensing an easy kill. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love brooding as much as the next girl. Sparkling? Not so much. Same with capes. So last century."

The vampires struck, lunging forwards at the same moment. Buffy simply dived forwards and rolled, coming up onto her feet as Dracula and Glitter Guy crashed into each other and fell to the ground. She turned to face them, nonchalantly spinning the stake in her palm as they leaped up and snarled at her.

They moved forwards, more cautiously this time, circling slightly to attack from the sides. Buffy let them come, alert and ready for the next attack. Dracula, she decided, was the ring leader. He moved slightly ahead of his fabulous buddy, his motion was surer, burning eyes fixed on hers. Glitter Guy moved slower, his movements a reaction to Dracula's. And his eyes darted from slayer to vampire constantly.

Okay, then.

She jumped forwards, driving one elbow up into the face of Dracula, connecting with his nose in a stunning blow. Bone and cartilage shattered on impact and forced him backwards. In the same instant she flew at Glitter Guy, ducking inside a wild swing he sent her way. She rammed her wooden stake home in his rib cage and he exploded into a cloud of ash and glitter.

Dracula was just recovering at this moment, and gave a bellow of rage as he realized his fight for dinner had become a fight for his life.

"Who are you?" He demanded, blinking rapidly to clear the stars from his vision.

"Fashion police." Buffy said, and roundhoused him into the nearest headstone. He struck the stone and flipped over it backwards. Before he had the chance to get back up buffy was on him. She slapped his arms away as he flailed blindly and jabbed downwards with her stake, crushing wood through bone and muscle and into his heart. She wrenched the stake free and he burst into ash.

"Idiots." She muttered. Dressing up to lure in innocent victims. There was no way that had worked. She hoped…

She stood up and returned her stake to its place in the back of her waistband then dusted off her hands and clothes, wrinkling her nose at the glitter mixed in with the ash.

She continued through the cemetery grounds searching for signs of more vampires or other nasties in the darkness, but found nothing. She had either staked the only two currently hanging out there, or scared off any others with the fight. Once she had looped back to the spot she had entered the cemetery by, she leaped over the fence and back onto the pavement on the other side and began the long walk back home through the sleeping city.

There was a shop-lined street a short walk from her house that was busy during the day, but now was silent and empty. Only streetlights illuminated the road, each shop front dark and unwelcoming. A couple of cars were parked at the side of the road but no one was about.

There was a newsagents on the corner of the road where it T-ed into more residential streets. The corrugated steel shutter was down protecting the glass front, dully reflecting orange light from the streetlight opposite where Buffy presumed the door to the shop would be. Pasted to the streetlight were several ragged, weather worn A4 printouts. Closer inspection revealed them to be homemade 'missing' person posters, all with 'last seen' dates spanning the same few months.

"Definitley of the weird…" Buffy murmured to herself. She had seen a fair few reports on missing people in the newspaper, posters in shop windows and at bus stops. Even Sunnydale hadn't been this bad. She didn't remember ever seeing so many homicide reports or people disappearing. But then…Sunnydale was a much smaller town. Maybe that was why there were so many more here? She made a mental note to ask Giles when she saw him in the morning. …Later.

She had just started on her way once again, turning onto the next street, when a flicker of movement brought her up short. It had been at the end of the road, a blur of shadow that had made her slayer sense ping. She withdrew the wooden stake from her waistband and strode forwards, slayer senses straining for signs of danger. Her body seemed to be on high alert, but she reached the end of the street without finding anything. The fine hairs at the back of her neck prickled. She whipped around just in time to see a creeping black _something_ disappearing around the corner of a house across the road.

It was a house between street lights, not enough of the electric glow reached the building for her to have snatched a decent view of the shadowy thing. One thing was for sure, it wasn't human. It moved too fast and too silently, and something about the shape was all wrong. And that meant it fell within her job description to pursue it and find out if it was in need of some serious slayage.

Buffy darted after the shadow, plunging into the darkness between houses, following an alley way onto the next street. She had only been a few seconds behind the shadow, and yet, by the time she reached the other side and came back out into the glare of street lights, it had vanished. Her senses picked up nothing.

What the Hell had she seen? Hopefully nothing too dangerous…Any attacks or deaths would be her fault now for not catching up to it. Though, in all fairness, it had been lightning fast. A blink and you miss it kind of deal.

She spent a few minutes walking up and down the neighbouring streets, searching for signs of the shadow until the horizon began to lighten with the dawns approach. She finally decided to head home for some much needed rest.

* * *

Saturday morning was a time traditionally for the coveted lay-in. A week spent getting up at the crack of dawn and trudging to work, slaving away for nine hours a day before heading home and repeating the process Monday to Friday earned two days rest at the end.

This was not the case for Dawn Summers, who worked weekends at a coffee shop in town, taking any extra hours thrown her way during the week. But they only ever seemed to need staff at weekends. Never mind. A job was a job.

She gave her alarm a groggy slap as it began beeping, and the noise ceased as soon as it started. She paused a moment, cocooned in the warmth of her bed, and then rolled out of the covers to sit on the edge of the mattress. She shuddered as the cool air hit the bare skin of her arms and stood up to dress hurriedly in her all black work uniform, fixing her brass name badge to the breast pocket once done. She tied her long hair up in a high ponytail at the back of her head, checked her appearance in the mirror and then bounded out of her bedroom, remembering to tiptoe along the landing as she passed Buffy's room. She knew her sister would have come in from patrol in the early hours and didn't want to disturb her, and Willow and Tara would still be fast asleep. Tucked up in bed, all snuggly and warm… Dawn felt a flash of jealousy.

She padded softly down the stairs and was just about to make her way towards the kitchen when she froze. She heard movement from within the kitchen, a soft thud, a scraping noise. But she was the only one up.

Dawn crept towards the doorway, heart pounding, and peered around the frame. The room was empty. Silent. There was a glass and a carton of juice on the counter, presumably left over from the night before. Otherwise no signs of disturbance. She frowned, and took a step inside.

Tara popped up from the other side of the island. After briefly registering surprise, she smiled.

"Oh, hey, Da-" Dawn cut her friend off with a loud shriek and Tara jumped, again dropping the plastic cap from the carton of juice that she had only just picked up.

"Tara!" She squeaked, hands pressed over her racing heart. Tara stared at her in alarm. "You scared me!"

"N-no, I think you scared me…" Tara replied.

Thundering footsteps on the floor above and then down the stairs announced the rest of the house waking and springing into action. Buffy was first on the scene, bursting into the kitchen with her fists raised ready to fight. Willow was hot on her heels and literally skidded to a stop beside her friend.

"What's going on?" Buffy demanded. She had a serious case of bed hair, but her demeanour was all business.

"Um, I think I scared Dawn…" Tara said. Dawn smiled awkwardly at the group.

"Sorry… I thought I was the only one up…"

The doorbell rang, causing Buffy to roll her eyes.

"If that's the neighbours, you're explaining." She warned her sister, leaving the kitchen while pushing her fingers back through her hair in an effort to tame it. She opened the front door a crack and peered round to see who was calling so early, well aware she wore just pyjamas (baggy blue and white striped bottoms and a thin white vest top. Not exactly the best attire to be opening the front door in) and smiled as she saw Giles stood on the porch frowning at her. She opened the door wide and stepped back for him.

"Is everything all right?" He asked, concern and confusion evident on his face as he entered the house. "I heard screaming…"

"Yup. Just Dawn making sure we're all up." Buffy replied, closing the door behind him. She folded her arms over her chest, watching him take off his shoes. "Anyway, what're you doing here so early?" Giles straightened up and turned to her.

"Dawn asked me to take her to work." He said. Buffy raised one eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Did she now?"

"Yes. I gather she had a late night…" Giles looked amused and Buffy rolled her eyes. "I don't mind."

"Well," Buffy said, turning away and leading him through to the living room to sit on the sofa while Dawn made breakfast and finished getting ready for work, "I guess it's a good thing. I wanted to talk to you about something that happened last night." She sat down on the sofa and looked up as Giles' brow creased worriedly.

"Oh?" He sat beside her.

"It's nothing bad." Buffy assured him quickly, though paused. "Um…I hope. Just weird." Giles nodded, watching her and motioning with one hand for her to go on. She took a moment to collect her thoughts, finding a way to phrase them.

"I went out on patrol last night and…it was pretty uneventful." She began, hunching forwards and leaning her forearms on her thighs. She looked down at her hands and began to pick at a thumbnail. "I dusted a couple of vamps. On the way back there was…something. Like a…shadow." She sighed and shook her head as she realized she wasn't explaining it right, sitting back to look at Giles, who was thoroughly confused. "Something that moved incredibly fast. I didn't really get a good look at it, but it gave me the wiggins."

"Some kind of demon?" Giles suggested. Buffy shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe." She replied.

"Malicious?" Buffy shrugged again.

"Maybe. Enough to blip my Spidey sense."

"Right." Giles said. He understood the pop culture reference enough to know what that meant. "And you weren't able to identify it?"

"Moved too fast." Buffy shook her head almost apologetically. "I tried to follow it but lost sight. I just…Thought I should say. You know, in case." Giles would always be her watcher, and she would always mention to him anything out of the ordinary that she saw on her patrols. Which, if _she_ thought it was something strange, then it _really_ fell outside of the realms of normality.

"Keep an eye out." Giles told her. "If it, ah…blipped your Spidey sense, as you say, it's probably not something particularly good. We'll need more to go on than its speed."

"It was really tall." Buffy added with the hint of a pout. Giles raised an eyebrow at her.

Dawn bounded out of the kitchen then and grabbed her bag from the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm ready!" She called out, slipping on her work shoes as she made her way to the living room. Giles stood and looked down at Buffy before he left.

"If you find out anything else, let me know." He told her. She nodded.

"I will."

Giles left with Dawn, calling goodbye as he went.

* * *

The day passed uneventfully for Buffy. Willow and Tara left shortly after breakfast to go on a cutsey coupley walk that turned into a cutsey coupley afternoon out. Buffy had been invited but declined, not wanting to get in their way and-okay, yes, she was kind of bitter that they were the embodiment of all that was wonderful in the world while she was pretty much the poster girl for broken relationships.

But at the same time she loved to see them so happy. They had been through a lot and they deserved every moment of happiness they could find, and seeing them hold hands under the dining table still made Buffy smile fondly.

She spent the morning organising her weapons and getting on with housework until lunch time where she made herself a sandwich and ate it in front of the TV while watching some kids film.

She stuffed the last of her sandwich into her mouth and stood up, plate in hand, and went into the kitchen, leaving the TV on behind her. She left the plate in the sink and flicked the switch on the kettle to boil water for a cup of coffee. While waiting for the kettle to do its thing she leaned her hands on the work surface by the sink and looked out of the window into the back garden.

It was a relatively nice day. The sky was cloudy but it was still fairly bright out, and enough sun found its way through the cover to keep the edge off the cold air. The wind was getting up though. As she watched a gust blew through the tall bushes at the end of the garden, making them shake and rustle.

Her mind drifted back to the events of her patrol the previous night, and the strange… _thing_ she had seen. The best descriptor her mind could throw up was 'shadow' but not 'shadow demon'. Not like the one she had fought with Cat and Kennedy in England. That was a hulking beast of a thing. The thing from last night was more tall and lanky and had only appeared as a shadow because it was dark and the creature moved too fast to register properly in her brain. And it was somewhere out there in Cleveland. Hopefully not wreaking havoc.

The switch on the kettle clicked back up into the 'off' position and steam billowed from the spout as the boiling water rumbled inside. Buffy began to turn away from the window to grab herself a mug from one of the cupboards above the work surface when something made her stop. A heads up from her subconscious. She looked back up and out through the window at the garden, green eyes narrowed and scouring the scene. Her slayer instincts had seen something. Movement. The tightening in her gut told her the culprit was still there, out there somewhere hidden away.

The culprit soon revealed themselves, leaping up from beneath the window with a roar, arms raised above her head.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Buffy leaped backwards in alarm and Cat burst out laughing. Buffy stormed across the kitchen to the back door and wrenched it open. "Goddammit, what is up with you people today? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"

"Your face!" Cat cried, hysterical.

"Yeah, my face!" Buffy snapped. "What the Hell are you doing back here, anyway?" Cat grinned at her.

"Was gunna scare you. Totally succeeded." Buffy let out a low breath to steady her nerves.

"And if I broke the window trying to bust your head?" She challenged. Cat stopped laughing. That was a very real alternative to the way her prank had played out.

"Sorry, I didn't think of that…" She admitted. Buffy rolled her eyes and motioned Cat inside.

"I _will_ get you back." She told her reaper friend as she stepped inside the kitchen. Cat closed the door behind her and wiped her shoes on the door mat.

"I better watch my back tonight then." She grinned at Buffy, who was now getting down two mugs for coffee. "Where is everyone, anyway?" She unslung her messenger bag from one shoulder and shrugged off her jacket, putting both on one of the kitchen stools.

"Dawn's at work." Buffy answered, though she knew Cat would know that already. "Willow and Tara went out earlier, I don't know when they're back." She spooned coffee into two mugs, added milk to one. "And Giles and Xander are doing their own thing until tonight. We're getting pizza for dinner, is that okay?" She looked over at Cat as she took the mugs to the kettle.

"Scrummy." Cat smiled at her. "I bought chips and dip." She patted her bag, which rustled in response. Buffy turned to her and handed over a mug of coffee.

"Good." She said. "Prepare for an evening of gambling and hijinks." Cat took the offered mug and gave a mischievous grin in response.

"Yes, ma'am."


	4. Chapter 3

Dawn stood in the kitchen before the microwave with a large plastic bowl in her hands, watching as her packet of popcorn slowly rotated on the glass plate and expanded. Along with the humming of the machine there was the muffled pop and crack of cooking kernels. She could hear the others setting up a game of poker around the coffee table in the living room, and getting snacks ready. The TV was on in the background, playing some Saturday night comedy show.

The microwave pinged as the timer reached zero and stopped blitzing the food. Dawn put her bowl on the counter beside it and opened the door. She reached inside and gripped one corner of the steaming packet between forefinger and thumb nails, trying to touch as little as possible to save burning herself. She pulled it out and grabbed another corner, pulling the packet completely open and hissing as the resultant puff of steam burned her fingers. She quickly upended the popcorn in her bowl and chucked the now empty packet into the kitchen bin, inspecting her burned fingertips on the way back to shut the microwave door and pick up her bowl. She left the kitchen and made her way into the living room where Giles was dealing out playing cards at the coffee table while Xander finished off the remainder of the pizza they had ordered for dinner. Buffy and Cat were watching the TV, waiting for the card game to start, and Willow was quickly reminding Tara of the rules.

"Popcorn's ready." Dawn announced needlessly, and sat herself cross legged on the sofa with the bowl resting in her lap. She tossed a handful into her mouth and crunched on it while watching Giles finish his deal. Cat leaned back from her position on the floor and grabbed some.

"Maybe we should bet with popcorn…" The reaper said thoughtfully, holding up one husk to inspect it.

"Money is better." Xander replied. Cat grinned at him and ate her snack instead.

"Careful, Xander," Buffy said playfully, "Sounds like you're channelling Anya." Xander smiled and shrugged at that, liking the idea. Her death still hurt, and caused him grief, and there would always be that hole inside him left by her passing that would never be filled, but the pain had lessened over the time since. Enough that he was attempting to get back into the dating game, so to speak.

Giles left the remaining stack of cards in the middle of the table and perched next to Dawn on the sofa.

"Right, everyone, ready?" He asked, fishing a handful of loose change from his trouser pocket and picking out some pennies. "We'll start with low bets, and increase the stakes later…" He pointedly eyed up Buffy and Xander, who had made a spectacle of themselves the previous week with a play fight after Xander had won twenty bucks from Buffy after the others stopped playing. The fight ended when Xander almost fell through the TV.

Buffy and Xander gave Giles identical angelic smiles that fooled no one.

Cat was carefully arranging her coins into neat little piles in front of her cards while she waited for the group to settle down and take their places.

"Okay, everyone got drinks and snacks?" Buffy checked, and received answers in the affirmative. "Game on!" She said, and everyone reached for their cards.

"Wait!" Dawn cried suddenly, halting the movement of her friends instantly. "I need to pee." She told them apologetically.

"Dawn!" Buffy said irritably.

"Go pee." Cat deadpanned, not looking up as she made sure her coin piles were all in line and dead straight.

Dawn relinquished ownership of the popcorn bowl to Giles and dashed off to do so. A few seconds later she could be heard thundering up the stairs to the bathroom.

Tara pressed one hand over Willow's cards as she noticed the redhead trying to sneak a look at the hand she had been dealt. Willow looked up at her innocently and Tara couldn't help a crooked grin.

"No peeking." She warned. "Play fair."

"But, Tara…" Willow whined, even pouting a little. Tara simply arched one eyebrow.

"I'm immune to the pout." She said.

"That's your secret power." Xander grinned across the table at her.

"I don't know why people eat this rubbish." Giles said, pulling a face while eating popcorn. "It's like salted polystyrene."

"You know what salted polystyrene tastes like?" Buffy asked him. Giles shot her a mock dark look.

"I took an educated guess."

Upstairs the toilet flushed and Dawn bounded noisily back down to the living room, cheerfully crying, "I'm back!" as she entered the room.

"Yeah, we heard." Buffy told her. Dawn rolled her eyes at her sister's comment as she sat back on the sofa beside Giles. He eagerly handed the popcorn back over.

" _Now_ are we ready?" Cat asked almost impatiently. "I wanna win some dollars. The next issue of Hellboy is out next week." Xander snorted at her.

"Nerd." He muttered.

"Tch, hypocrite." She retorted, picking up her cards. The others followed suit.

"Place ya bets!" Dawn cried excitedly, throwing her coins into the middle of the table.

"Woah, easy!" Xander laughed at her eagerness.

"See, this is why you and Willow are so easy to read." Buffy told her sister. Willow looked up sharply from her own cards.

"I am _not_!" She insisted, as Dawn scowled at Buffy.

"You kinda are." Xander agreed with Buffy, as he matched the bets placed so far. "You bounce when you've got a good hand. Dawn just looks smug."

Willow opted to sit still as a statue then in an effort to throw everyone off her game. Dawn stared stony faced at her cards, instead feeling inwardly satisfied, sure she would be able to make a good hand.

As the game went on, Buffy and Giles eventually folded and Tara seemed to be feeling suspiciously confident with the amount of money she was putting down, while looking perfectly innocent.

When those remaining in the game finally revealed their cards, Willow grabbed at Tara's forearm excitedly.

"You won!" She cried.

"I did…?" Tara asked uncertainly. The others looked over at her cards as Tara spread them out to make them easier to see.

"You did." Giles told her.

"See, you got a straight flush." Willow said, and gestured to the others. "They all got rubbish hands."

"Thanks, Willow." Dawn replied, though was grinning at the redhead's enthusiasm. Willow grinned back at her as she leaned over to the middle of the table and scraped the pile of coins over to Tara.

"I think someone lied about finding the game confusing…" Buffy teased her friend.

"You little gambler!" Xander grinned, reaching over to playfully nudge Tara's shoulder with his knuckles.

"Okay, well, you can buy my comic, then." Cat said.

"Sure, Cat." Tara laughed. "Or, you know, you could try and win it back." She gave the reaper a mischievous grin.

"Maybe I will." Cat replied, handing over her cards for Xander to shuffle and deal. He gathered the deck together and began to shuffle them.

"Hey, look." Buffy said. She had turned towards the TV, a broadcast catching her eye. The news had come on while they were playing and was running a story about the body of a man being found. What had caught her attention though was the name, Ethan Miller.

"Wasn't that the guy that went missing last week?" Dawn asked. Buffy leaned forwards and wound up the volume on the TV.

" _…Latest in a spate of recent disappearances within the city. Police claim to be investigating but have found no links. Ethan Miller was found in the early hours of this morning and is believed to have been attacked by a wild animal that has yet to be identified. His family has been informed._ "

"Ugh, grisly." Xander shuddered. As the reporter moved on to the next topic, Buffy wound the volume back down and switched channels to something more interesting.

"You know…" She said slowly. "I keep seeing stuff about people going missing." She looked meaningfully over at Giles who understood the look immediately.

"Well, it may be worth looking into," he started slowly, "but to my knowledge this Ethan is the first animal attack-"

"Sunnydale explanation." Buffy interrupted.

"It's probably nothing." Cat said. "People go missing. Stuff happens. Sometimes they just need to get away and sometimes it's just bad people doing bad things."

"I know." Buffy said in agreement. "I just…Have a bad feeling."

"Could've been the pizza." Dawn said.

"Anyway." Giles continued. "If you're worried, look into it. No hacking." He warned Willow, who swiftly pouted in response. "It's best to rule out all possibilities, though I've seen nothing to suggest supernatural goings on. I have been wrong in the past."

"Yup." Buffy grinned smugly up at him and Giles heaved a sigh, hating to admit she had the right to feel arrogant about that. Like the time she had insisted her roommate in college was a demon and no one listened to her.

"Is everyone still in the game?" Xander interrupted them both, looking down at the cards in his hands as he carefully shuffled them once more.

"Yessir." Cat said around a mouthful of chips and dips. She rubbed salt from the chips off her hands and onto her jeans and motioned for him to begin dealing as the others settled back into position.

"I think I can afford to win another round." Tara said confidently with a sloped smirk.

"You got the bug!" Xander teased her, and almost flicked the deck of cards into the air when his mobile phone gave a loud beep in his trouser pocket. He passed the deck along to Buffy to deal out and took his phone from his pocket to check the message that had come through.

"Who is it?" Buffy asked, a joking tone in her voice. "All your friends are here…"

"Shots fired!" Cat sniggered into her cup of coke.

"Ha. Ha." Xander replied drily, tipping his head to one side as he scowled at his blonde haired friend. "I do have more friends than you guys, you know? Anyway, it's just someone I met at that party last week."

"A girl someone…?" Willow asked casually. One leg jittered excitedly at the potential news. Buffy's eyebrows were raised expectantly as Willow asked the question she had been about to voice.

"Maybe." Xander said vaguely, texting a reply to the message. He glanced up at the eager silence that followed his ambiguous remark, and finally flashed an arrogant grin. "Okay, yes, a girl someone."

"And you said nothing?" Buffy slapped his arm. "Sly dog!"

"Xander's got a girlfriend!" Dawn sang, and giggled excitedly.

"So, come on, details!" Willow insisted.

"It's like being back in high school." Giles muttered.

Cat reached across the table and took the deck of cards from Buffy as she seemed to have forgotten she was meant to be dealing.

"Okay, well," Xander said, hitting 'send' on his message and leaning back to put his phone back in his pocket. "Last week I went out to my work buddy's party and I met this lady, Mona."

Cat began to hand out the cards for the second game.

"We got talking and decided to meet up again at some point, so…" Xander picked up his cards, not looking at anyone as he gave a little smirk. "I have a date next Friday."

"Yay, go you!" Dawn said enthusiastically.

"A date, huh?" Buffy asked, clearly amused. Xander looked at her suspiciously.

"Yes…Why…?" He asked slowly.

"Oh, nothing." Buffy said, picking up her cards and eyeing them. "Just…You know. Maybe one of us should come along to make sure nothing happens."

"Like what?" He asked with a frown.

"Oh, you know." Willow said, catching on. "Like, are you _sure_ she's not a giant bug in disguise?" She grinned at Xander.

"Or going to use you as a ritual sacrifice?" Buffy added.

"You guys suck." Xander grumbled.

"Well. They're valid points." Giles spoke up from where he had been quietly viewing his cards. He looked up at Xander innocently.

"Sorry, Giles, your horns are getting in the way of your halo." Xander told him.

"Much as I love this discussion of Xander's dating life, I do so want to win at least once tonight." Cat told them.

"Cat's right." Xander said, nodding vigorously.

"You just want to borrow her comic." Buffy told him.

"Nerds unite!" Cat called, and she and Xander fist bumped. Buffy rolled her eyes and started off the first round of bets in the second game of what would be a series of many that night.


	5. Chapter 4

Sundays in the coffee shop were never especially busy. Sure, they had their share of long queues and customers sighing impatiently while pointedly checking wrist watches (during these moments Dawn made sure to process transactions extra slow through the till) but compared with Saturdays it was a walk in the park. With four of them on the shop floor (including herself) things tended to go extra smooth. Today, Dawn worked the till while Casey made drinks, Ryan dealt with the food and Lisa was the runner and table clearer. They were a team that worked like a well-oiled machine, and their boss loved it as he could hide out back all day and the shop would still be in one piece when he ventured out to pull down the shutter and lock the doors at the end of the day.

They were fifteen minutes from locking up and so Dawn had made a start on bagging the money in her till. She was stuffing pennies into a plastic change bag as Ryan stood at her elbow, butt leaning on the counter and his arms folded over his narrow chest, nattering away to her.

"So anyway." He said, stifling a yawn. Dawn jammed the bag of pennies back into the penny compartment in the till and started putting all the notes together. "I was thinking of bringing a couple of horror films next week, what do you think?"

"Next week?" Dawn asked, glancing up at him as she squared off the notes. Ryan arched one eyebrow in surprise.

"Saturday?" He clarified. "Lisa's?"

"Oh! Yeah." Dawn nodded and stuffed the notes back into the till. "I forgot. Horror movies sound fun to me." Ryan moved to Dawn's other side as Casey nudged her broom against his feet to get him out of the way.

"There is nothing 'fun' about scaring the crap outta yourself." She remarked, sweeping crumbs and coffee grounds into a pile behind the counter.

"Casey's _scared_." Ryan teased. The short and stumpy punk with a broom glared defiantly up at him.

"Yup. And what of it?"

Tall and lanky Ryan stood his ground for a respectable three seconds before backing down.

"Nothing." He muttered, removing his thick framed spectacles under the pretence of checking the lenses for dirt so he could avert his gaze. Dawn and Casey looked at each other and smirked.

"Well, I'm not scared." Dawn announced. "I've got macho Ryan here to look after me." She reached up and ruffled his thick dark hair.

"Dawn!" He whined, ducking away from her hand and carefully restyling his too-long sweeping fringe. The girls laughed, watching him check his appearance in the polished steel surface of the coffee machine.

"Right." Casey said, leaning on her broom handle. "Macho."

The last customer in the shop left them, waving as he went, and Lisa wandered over with the empty plate and coffee cup from his table.

"What's funny?" She asked curiously.

"Ryan's hair." Dawn said, closing the till drawer and hitting a couple of buttons on the till, which promptly spat out a receipt to close that day's session.

"Oh, there's nothing funny about that." Lisa said mock seriously. Ryan stuck his tongue out at them.

The staff door at the end of the shop opened and Jimmy stepped out, smiling as he saw the shop was clear. He stood over six feet tall, broad shouldered, dwarfed the lot of them. He rolled up his shirt sleeves as he approached Dawn and her friends, ready to help clean up the shop for the morning.

"All clear?" He asked.

"Last customer just left." Casey said, continuing with her sweeping.

"Good, good." He made his way to the door and locked it, then jammed a key in the small metal box next to the door and stood watching as the shutter slowly descended outside to cover the door and front window.

Jimmy wasn't an especially 'hands on' boss, but he was all right. He came out when needed, and the rest of the time let them get on with whatever they wanted. So long as the shop was run properly and looked good at the end of the day, he didn't care.

The five of them had the shop looking clean and tidy and ready for the Monday morning shift in just half an hour.

"Thanks for today, guys. You did good." Jimmy said, carrying the till drawer through the staff area to the safe room at the end of the short corridor.

"No problem!" Lisa called after him as the door closed and locked itself electronically.

"So, is your sister picking you up?" Casey asked Dawn, shoving open the door to the staff room and holding it open for the group. Dawn dropped the heavy black bin liners she was holding outside the door and entered. The glass bottles inside one clanked as they hit the floor.

"Yup." She said, sounding every bit as displeased as she felt.

"You know, I could walk you back…?" Ryan offered.

"Thanks, Ry." Dawn replied, pulling on her jacket and zipping it up. She looked up at him and grinned playfully. "I'm actually a lot safer with Buffy around."

"Safer with the tiny blonde woman around." Ryan sighed. "I should just throw away my man card now."

"Yup." Lisa smirked at him.

"I know she doesn't look like much, but she can kick some serious butt." Dawn said. "Um…When she needs to. Which isn't often."

"And I bet every time she does, it's to get you out of trouble." Casey teased her friend.

"Not _every_ time…" Dawn protested lamely.

Once they all had their coats and bags, they filed out of the room, Dawn picking up the bin bags she had left by the door, and headed to the fire doors further along the corridor. Lisa disabled the alarm and they left the building. Jimmy would turn the alarm back on once he had cashed up.

Buffy was waiting in the back yard for Dawn, as she had for the past few weeks. She was stood as far away as possible from the two brightly coloured dumpsters leaning back against the high brick wall that encircled the area.

"Hi, guys." She greeted Dawn and her friends brightly. Dawn glowered at her, turned to one dumpster and flipped the lid then hurled her rubbish inside, letting the lid bang back down. She wrinkled her nose as the action released a foul smelling cloud of air and turned back to Buffy as the others greeted her then bade farewell and left together.

"So, how was work?" Buffy asked her sister, who just rolled her eyes.

"Great! I was actually an adult for, like…six hours, and then you came and cramped my style like I'm twelve again." She replied, folding her arms over her chest and sweeping out onto the street.

"As usual." Buffy said with a nod and wry smile, and rushed after her. "You know I'm only doing this because you just attract trouble?"

"Not always!" Dawn protested. "You don't have to keep meeting me from work! My friends think it's a huge joke!"

"Well, your safety isn't a joke to _me_." Buffy said firmly. "I'll just keep it up while it's dark when you finish. If the sun's still up, no problem."

"That's forever!" She moaned.

"Dawn, it's not safe." Buffy said, looking sideways at her, hoping to catch her sister's eye to show how seriously she took the matter, but Dawn was scowling down at the pavement as they walked.

"I almost got eaten _once_." She muttered.

"I'm not doing this to annoy you. I'm doing it because I care." Dawn heaved an irritated sigh and kicked at a loose stone on the pavement. She watched it skip and clack its way along the street before dropping off the curb and onto the road.

"I know." She eventually said. "It's just embarrassing. Can't you care from afar?"

"Um…Not really. That would look like I'm stalking you and someone might report me…"

"I guess I'll just have to continue to suffer in silence." Dawn said.

"You're doing brilliantly so far."

* * *

The house was dark when they turned onto the street, with only the porch light on illuminating the door beneath, and the short paved pathway bisecting the small patch of grass that constituted a front garden. Dawn glanced from the ground floor windows to the upper floor, but saw no signs of interior lights.

"Where is everyone?" She asked, as Buffy hopped the low wall encircling their garden and made her way to the front door while fishing house keys from her coat pocket.

"They went out just before I left. Something about grabbing some stuff for Tara tomorrow." Buffy explained, unlocking the front door and stepping inside. "They're walking back but they'll be back in time for dinner."

Dawn faltered, wiping her feet on the door mat, and looked up at Buffy.

"So, um…who's cooking dinner?" She asked casually. Normally Tara would cook them something, but if Tara wasn't here and wouldn't be back until dinner...

"I am." Buffy said, stepping out of her shoes. Dawn pulled a face and closed the door. Charcoal for dinner then…

Buffy hung up her coat on one of the hooks by the door and then went straight into the kitchen to get a start on dinner. Dawn followed shortly after to get herself a glass of water and a snack, then left again and went into the living room. Willow had left her laptop open on the coffee table, white power light blinking on and off to show it was on standby. A stack of musty old spell books stood beside it, a copy of the local newspaper folded in half beneath the books, most probably unread.

She set down her glass of water at the opposite end of the table so that if she knocked it over she could at least save Willow's pride and joy before any lasting damage was caused.

A quick rummage amongst the sofa cushions produced the TV remote, and she hit the power button while sitting down to turn on the TV. After a day of rushing around at work it felt good to take the weight off her feet. She sprawled across the sofa seeing as she had it to herself, leaned her elbow on the arm and propped her head in her hand as she hopped from channel to channel searching for something to watch.

"A bazillion channels of _nothing_ …" She grumbled, eventually settling on a Friends re-run and dropping the remote onto the floor in front of the sofa. It wasn't long before she lost interest, and leaned her head on the arm of the sofa to look curiously at the spines of the magic books. Generally she wasn't allowed around the magic paraphernalia as the things she tried generally exploded or…just didn't go according to plan. Tara had been teaching her the odd spell or two to sate her interest but nothing especially brilliant. And nothing anywhere close to any of the epic displays Willow had put on over the years. Though, the accidental mushroom cloud in the living room had been pretty awesome… The clean-up mission afterwards less so.

 _A-Z of Persian Magicks, Corpus Hermeticum, Native American Medicine, A History of Witchcraft…_

The most boring pile of magic books in the world. Dawn sighed. No sneak peeks to be had there. She was about to look away, back to the TV, when the newspaper sticking out from beneath the books caught her attention. The name Ethan Miller. She pushed the books away from the newspaper and unfolded it. The front page was almost taken over by an article detailing the discovery and identification of his body. Glancing through the article Dawn remembered Buffy's concerns the previous night. That something strange was going on. Which was usually pretty safe to assume when living on a Hellmouth.

Buffy would be cooking dinner most likely until Willow and Tara returned home. Dawn was bored so she may as well do something while she waited for the others. She sat up and pulled Willow's laptop closer, hitting the space bar to wake it up. Instantly the screen went from black to bright colours and the fan began to whir. Instead of asking for a password the screen went straight to Willow's desktop. The internet browser was open on the last page Willow had visited (a Wiccan forum on a discussion about the various properties of mandrake root) so Dawn left that be and opened a new tab. She paused for thought with her fingers hovering over the keyboard, then decided to first see what she could find about Ethan Miller's case. It was always best to start with what you know.

Looking into him just brought up news articles that didn't give much more information than had already been reported. Not enough time had passed, she supposed, for extra tidbits to emerge.

She browsed through the articles just to make sure she hadn't missed anything, then sat staring at the screen wondering what to do next. Buffy had mentioned seeing an unusually high amount of missing persons reports, that seemed as good a place to branch out from as any, though trying to narrow down relevant cases would be difficult online. She shrugged and tried it anyway. In seconds she had pages and pages of news articles and websites dedicated to people who had disappeared, both new and old cases.

"This could take a while…" She murmured, scanning the hits on the first page.

* * *

"What is it…?" Dawn asked suspiciously, poking at her dinner with her fork. White rice with chicken in…some sort of tomato based sauce. It looked edible, but Buffy had cooked it.

"Spanish chicken." Her sister answered.

"It smells good." Tara said, smiling warmly at Buffy, who shrugged her shoulders and tucked right in.

"Sauce from a jar." She explained.

"Tastes good too!" Willow said around a mouthful of chicken and sauce. Buffy smiled appreciatively at her. Dawn speared a piece of chicken on her fork and scrutinized it a moment, then sighed and lay the fork back down on her plate.

"So, I was bored while Buffy was cooking and you guys were out." She said to Willow and Tara. "So I decided to look into the stuff you were talking about last night." She looked over at Buffy.

"Oh…?" Buffy raised one eyebrow inquisitively. Dawn doing voluntary 'research' into something didn't happen very often. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time that had happened…

"Over the past year, there's been more and more reports of people disappearing for no reason. Some were never seen again, others…turned up dead. Murders, animal attacks. There's even one linked to cannibalism."

"Yeesh." Buffy wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"They can't _all_ be just…normal attacks and disappearances. Some must be Hellmouthy." Dawn continued. "So…We should check it out, right?"

Willow glanced across the table at Buffy.

"Want me to, ah…look into the official reports?" She offered, earning herself a disapproving look from Tara, which she carefully ignored.

"No." Buffy said, shaking her head. "Not yet, anyway. Giles is right, we don't know that any of this is _connected_. Maybe some of it is supernatural, but…we don't know. I'll just keep an extra eye out while patrolling."

"But, it's good you looked into it." Tara told Dawn as she looked a little disappointed at the somewhat negative response. She had kind of been looking forwards to a proper Scooby investigation. "The Hellmouth makes people do crazy things and maybe that's all it is. It's good to have a heads up so we can keep an eye on it."

"Thanks, Tara." Dawn grinned across the table at the Wiccan, picked up her fork and carried on eating. And enjoyed a meal that tasted much better than charcoal.

* * *

Somewhere in the tangle of suburbia a clock tower struck midnight. The deep peals sounded quiet, far away, but it was enough to remind Cat that she had been wandering the streets of Cleveland for several hours now and she should probably head home and go to bed. Unlike the Slayer, Cat didn't need to 'patrol' often, or for that long. She just needed to stroll around, help out the odd ghost, deal with any soul-munching demons that had crawled out of the Hellmouth and that was that. Which was good, because she had to fit it around working the night shift at the hospital.

She began to head back into town having discovered a grand total of zero spirits that needed her aid, and no demons. Not even a vampire to dust. Though, she supposed, vampires stuck to cemeteries and the busier parts of town to guarantee a feed. And really it wasn't that strange to come up empty on the spirit and demon front. They could be pretty hit and miss at times.

She had been lost in her own world when she felt a prickle at the back of her neck, a subconscious warning. Seconds later she heard the sound of a metal bin lid clattering against concrete, drawing her attention towards the end of the street. She saw a dark shape scaling the side of one house, crawling along the roof lightning fast. The shadowy something paused as it reached the top of the slope and glanced her way. Cat felt her stomach lurch as luminous silver eyes locked onto her. She recognised a humanoid shape but couldn't identify it past that. Definitely some kind of demon, and it was looking right at her. The fingers of her right hand twitched at her side and her katana shimmered into existence in her grip. Before she could draw it the demon had leaped down from its high perch, into the next street.

Cat started after the demon, wrinkling her nose as she neared the house it had climbed. The dustbin it had disturbed filled the air with an almost overwhelming smell of rot, sickly sweet. Maybe rotting meat.

"Reaper!"

Cat whipped around to face the way she had come from at the sudden shout. There behind her stood a young man shimmering in the darkness. Despite the cold night air he wore jeans and a T-shirt, and when he looked at her she felt every hair on her body stand on end, as though hit suddenly with a static charge. He was pointedly ignoring the sword clutched in her hand.

"Hi." Cat said. "Can I help you?" Of course, she already knew the answer.

"I'm tired." The ghost told her quietly. "I need to rest." Cat nodded once, and he turned to stand with his back to her, shoulders tense.

"Rest easy." Cat replied, and lunged with her sword. The point passed through his back and burst from his chest with little resistance. Instantly the ghost flared with a brilliant white light. There was a burst of energy and then…nothing. He had disappeared.

Immediately Cat turned on her heel and sprinted back to the end of the road in the hope of catching the trail of the demon she had seen but it was long gone. She sighed and sheathed her sword, allowed it to fade into non-existence, and made her way back towards home. She would need to speak with Buffy and Giles about this…


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: So….I am being intentionally vague with describing real places considering I've never been. Also kind of based the library on my workplace (bookshop :P) so…yeah. Hope it works!**

* * *

It was dark outside. Tara could see a sliver of orange from the street lights through the crack in the bedroom curtains. It would still be dark when she got up in five minutes. She hadn't slept well that night, despite the warmth of Willow behind her, breathing softly into her neck. Normally laying in the redhead's embrace snuggled up beneath the covers was enough to soothe her into a deep sleep. And Willow _was_ comforting her. It was just…first day nerves. In just over an hour Giles would arrive to pick her up and drive her to the library for her first ever shift there. She would be meeting new people, in an unfamiliar setting, with unfamiliar systems, and, oh Goddess, what if she did something wrong and they fired her and-no. She took a deep, slow breath to calm the jitters. There was nothing she could possibly do in a library that would result in her being fired on the spot. Unless she purposefully set fire to the books or something stupid like that. And really, why would she do that?

The glowing red numbers on the alarm clock opposite her read 7:59am. One minute to go… She reached one arm out of the warmth from beneath the bed covers, ready to stop the alarm as soon as the numbers ticked over, and felt Willow's arms tighten around her middle in response.

The alarm clock display changed to the dreaded 8:00am and just before the alarm could start obnoxiously buzzing at them both she hit the button on top to turn it off. She sighed and moved to discretely slip out of bed, but found herself being dragged backwards and held tighter still.

"Nooooo…" Willow gave a sleepy moan into Tara's neck. She laughed softly and tried to push Willow's arms away.

"You know I have to get up now." She said. Willow shook her head stubbornly.

"You are not authorized to leave the bed at this moment in time, ma'am."

"Will…."

"Yes, ma'am?" Willow raised her head just enough to look at Tara. Tara glanced over with her stern face on but found her will crumbling as her girlfriend utilized the puppy dog-eyes/bed hair combo. There was even a little pout to go with it.

"Stoppit!"

"But I thought you said you were immune…" Willow said innocently. Tara paused.

"I think I lied…" She mumbled. Willow cracked a grin.

"You _think_?" She asked playfully, and Tara nudged her with one shoulder.

"You should get up too." She said. Willow responded with a disgruntled noise and a frown. "I'll make pancakes…"

"Okay!" Willow all but sprang from bed. Tara grinned as the coaxing worked, and pushed away the covers as she sat up.

"Go and shower, I'll have breakfast ready when you come down." She told Willow.

"You're the best." Willow said with a grin. She grabbed her towel, kissed Tara's cheek as she passed and dashed out of the bedroom. A minute later Tara heard the shower running across the hall. She sighed and slowly stood up. Her eyes felt gritty from lack of sleep, her mind sluggish, and she hoped it wouldn't affect her ability to work.

She took down her dressing gown from the back of the bedroom door and pulled it on while heading out onto the landing and down the stairs to the kitchen to make a start on breakfast.

* * *

Tara was effectively alone in the house half an hour later. Dawn was still asleep upstairs, dead to the world, and would be for a while yet. Buffy and Willow had both left for work already, wishing her luck. Willow had given her a kiss and a "you'll be great" before hurrying out the front door after Buffy. Still, Tara felt butterflies flitting about her stomach. She felt both excited and nervous.

She already had her shoes and jacket on, and had packed and repacked the brown canvas messenger bag she had decided on being her 'work bag', checking she had lunch, notebook, pens…anything she deemed useful for the day. She was about to rummage through it again when the doorbell rang, and she stood up and hung the bag over one shoulder, then made her way to the door to open it.

"Good morning." Giles greeted her brightly. "Ready?"

"Yep." Tara nodded and checked her bag once more for house keys and money before leaving the house and closing the door behind herself. Giles lead her to where he had parked his car at the curb and unlocked it by pressing a button on the key fob, then climbed into the driver's seat and pulled the door closed. He waited for her to get into the passenger seat beside himself, then leaned over and picked up a small card attached to a little clip and held it out to her.

"Your staff card." He announced. Tara took it from him and inspected the front. It had the library logo and her name printed on it, along with an embarrassing photo of herself. Very official looking. The car engine rumbled into life and Giles pulled away from the curb, heading into town.

"Try not to look so worried." He said, sounding amused. Tara smiled and glanced over at him, willing herself to relax.

"I'm okay. Just new job jitters." She said, clipping the card to the waistband of her long skirt. She had been given a smart/casual dress code and so had opted for a long black skirt, sensible shoes and a fitted white shirt. Giles was wearing tan slacks and a shirt so she figured she had made the right choice.

"You'll do brilliantly." Giles said encouragingly. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"That's what everyone keeps saying…"

* * *

The library buildings were about the size of a city block. The main one, where Tara and Giles would be working, was several stories high, all white stone and Corinthian columns, with a bust of the goddess Athena staring down at visitors passing through its main doors. It was pretty hard to miss and definitely impressive, but today Tara paid no attention to the brilliant architecture and striking interior. She mutely followed Giles as he led her up several flights of stairs and through an electronically locked door to the staff area. Tara knew the area from her employee induction the previous week and so headed straight for the staff room. It was currently empty, though a few coats and bags were already hanging on the multitude of coat pegs across the room by the windows. There was a large table in the middle of the room with a few chairs around it. Someone had left a packet of biscuits there for colleagues to share. A whiteboard covered one wall and had several notices written on it, and sheets of paper tacked around it. Against the opposite wall sat a low bank of pigeon holes each one labelled with an employee's name. Tara saw her name scrawled in black Sharpie on an address label stuck on one at the end of the bottom row. There were a couple of sheets of A4 stuffed inside so she bent down and pulled them out curiously as she crossed the room. Someone had printed out what looked like a little FAQ sheet for her, detailing passwords for the computer systems and other useful information. She smiled at the thoughtfulness and read over a few points, then folded the sheets and put them in her bag for later. She hung up her coat and bag then left the room to find Giles. Which wasn't hard as he was stood in the doorway to the manager's office at the far end of the corridor.

"Morning, Tara." Sam said, standing up from behind her desk. Tara paused just inside the doorway and smiled at her new boss. Sam was a tall woman wearing heels that made her taller still, and Tara had to tip her head back slightly to maintain eye contact as she pushed off from the desk to stand in front of her employees. She wore a grey trouser suit with her ID clipped to the breast pocket of her jacket, and had her jet black hair pulled back into a tight no nonsense bun at the back of her head. She shook Tara's hand, then crossed her arms. "How are you feeling?"

"Nervous." Tara admitted, looking into friendly coke-bottle green eyes that creased in amusement with her response. "But pretty confident." She added, in case Sam took that to mean Tara thought she couldn't do the job.

"Good." Sam said, going back over to her desk and sitting down in the swivel chair. "Well, I've got a relatively easy job for you today. Rupert will fill you in." And she spun back to face her computer and continued typing away at whatever Giles had interrupted her from. They left the office and he took her into the staff kitchen, a small room furnished with the basics (kettle, toaster, microwave on a worn counter, and fridge beneath, cupboards above, sink and draining rack opposite).

"Would you like a cup of tea?" Giles asked her, lifting the kettle from its base. Tara nodded and stood out of the way with her arms folded over her chest.

"Sure." She said, and watched as Giles filled the kettle from the tap at the sink, then put it back in its place and flipped the switch to boil the water. He opened the cupboard above the kettle and took down two mugs, inspected them to make sure they were clean, then closed the door and set them down on the counter and took two teabags from the tin by the kettle and dropped one into each mug.

"So, today, we'll be going through some of the donations sent in and cataloguing them." Giles said, turning his back on the kettle and leaning against the counter, hands resting either side of him. "I'll be there to help you with the computer system."

"We won't be dealing with customers?" Tara asked.

"No. This will give you a chance to see how things work, first." Giles said. "It can be a bit complicated, so I'll be there to help, but you'll be doing the majority of it." Tara gave him a crooked grin.

"So I'm like your slave for the day?" She asked.

"Not quite." Giles turned back to the kettle as it finished boiling water and the switch clicked off, though not before Tara saw the amused smile cross his face. He poured water into the mugs, then added a splash of milk from the fridge, stirred and dumped the tea bags in the bin. The mug he then passed over to her was filled with a dark brown steaming tea, a 'proper cuppa' as he and Cat put it.

"Thanks." She said, following Giles back out into the corridor. He led her past the manager's office and around the corner, through a door into a well-lit and spacious room. There were several wooden laminate desks along one wall with computers on standby on most of them, a large desk in the centre of the room topped with a couple of cardboard boxes filled with books, DVDs and CDs. More boxes were shelved on metal racking around the rest of the room, standing near floor to ceiling.

"Pick a computer and login, I'll get you some donations to sort through." Giles said. He stood by the large central desk and rooted through some of the boxes while Tara stopped the first computer she came to and sat in the desk chair, putting her tea beside the mouse. She woke up the computer and typed in the login details she remembered from her induction and waited for it to load. Giles brought over one of the cardboard boxes and showed her how to log in to the library's main system, then left her to it.

Tara had to admit, it was easier than she thought. She didn't have much experience with computers but even so she was able to figure out the system within a couple of tries. Check over the item to make sure it was okay, zap the barcode, and the system pretty much did the rest. Before long she had almost emptied her first box.

* * *

A couple of hours later she was almost finished with the second box. Giles had taken their mugs and left the room to get refills and snacks ready for the next load of cataloguing, leaving her alone in the room. It was oddly quiet without the sound of Giles moving about rustling paper and shifting boxes now, without his idle chatter. She could hear the sounds of the street filtering through the high windows across the room, the humming of fluorescent tube lights overhead and the wheezing of the computer fans. But those noises were faint and belonged to machines and electronics. She felt uneasy and wasn't entirely sure why until she put her hand back into her cardboard box and felt a crack of energy, not unlike static, as her fingers grazed the surface of the last book. She sharply withdrew her hand and stood up to look inside the box in surprise. There in the bottom, sat by itself, was a plain brown leather-bound book. A journal perhaps. The feeling of unease stemmed from the sudden aura of magic seeping from the thing. She wasn't sure what had triggered it-perhaps the close proximity to herself-but the aura had definitely not been there when she had started on the box. She reached back in and brushed her fingers experimentally against the cover once again. It was soft, well used, and it made her skin tingle. It was most definitely supernatural. She lifted the book out to have a closer look, turning it over in her hands. The cover was completely plain, no writing on the front, back or spine, and was relatively thick. It was cracked and creased in places, old. The pages looked yellowed and had the musty smell of aged paper. It was fairly small, a little bigger than a standard book, and just about an inch thick. She flicked it open to look inside, and caught a glance of black ink on yellow pages just before a strong ice cold wind swept through the room, tugging at her hair and clothes as it blasted past, rustling paper and blowing over several boxes behind her. Just as suddenly as it started it had stopped and all was still. Tara paused, then hastily closed the book and put it down on the desk in front of her.

"That can't be good." She muttered, turning to look around the room behind herself. Nothing seemed amiss despite the sudden indoors meteorological incident.

The door opened and Giles entered with two fresh mugs of steaming tea in both hands, and kicked the door shut behind himself. He frowned as he took in her ruffled appearance and nervous expression.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concerned and confused.

"Um, maybe this?" Tara picked up the journal and held it up to show it to him.

"Don't touch that!" A voice screeched suddenly, and a woman materialized in front of her and viciously backhanded the book out of her grasp. It flew out of her hand, slammed into the wall and landed face down on the desk with a bang. The woman immediately disappeared. Giles stood frozen mid step.

"Oh…"

Tara gaped at him, hand still held up as though she hadn't had the book knocked free of her fingers.

"What was that?!" She demanded. Giles looked at her for a moment, then put down the mugs of tea on the desk closest to him and took off his glasses to give the lenses a thorough polishing on his shirt front.

"Well, I believe that could have been the manifestation of the book's owner. Or a ghost. Or both." They both turned to face the far right corner of the room as the fluorescent light there began to buzz louder and grow brighter. The tube stuttered erratically for a couple of seconds, then blinked back to its original state as though nothing had happened.

"Uh, I think it's still here…" Tara commented needlessly. Giles put his glasses back on.

"Yes. I suggest a tactical retreat for the moment."

"I agree…" Tara said, blue eyes on the shadow building slowly in the far corner of the room. She backed slowly towards the door and groped blindly for the handle, then pushed down. She felt the latch free and pulled the door open. Giles grabbed the teas and rushed out with her. Tara shoved the door closed as they entered the corridor.

"Hold these." Giles thrust the mugs of tea at her and barely gave her the chance to catch them before he was rummaging in his trouser pockets. Tara winced as hot tea spilled over the side of one of the mugs and burned her fingers. She heard keys jingle and looked down as Giles selected one and thrust it into the lock, turning until it clicked.

"This should stop anyone crossing paths with it, providing it stays put." Giles said. "At least until we can figure out what to do with it."

"Should we call Cat?" Tara suggested. "She's a reaper and…well, I _think_ it's a ghost."

"I'm sure we can figure it out ourselves." Giles said, taking his mug of tea from her. "We are just as well equipped as they are to deal with these matters." Tara's eyebrow twitched. What he said was true, but…they did happen to know a slayer and a reaper who were kind of experts in dealing with supernatural stuff gone wrong. Hell, Cat could just materialize the sole item she needed to deal with it out of thin air.

"Okay, so then…What shall we do?" She asked. She knew a few containment spells off hand, but they needed ingredients unavailable at the moment. They could try Google for other, simpler spells, but really, the books they both had at home held better answers.

"Do you think the staff kitchen has rock salt?" Giles asked eventually.

* * *

The staff kitchen did not have rock salt.

"Bugger." Giles muttered, closing the door of the final cupboard. "There's nothing here we can use."

"I think we're in the wrong kind of library." Tara said, thinking back to the books they had at home, enough to start an arcane library, and the handy bits and bobs used for spells or warding off of various nasties.

"I think I'll start bringing some supplies to work." Giles muttered, pulling open a cutlery drawer and rummaging inside in the hope of finding…well, anything. Tara frowned at him.

"Has this happened before?" She asked.

"No, never." Giles said, pushing the drawer closed and opening the next one. It was filled with tea towels. "I wonder what triggered it…?"

"I don't know. Maybe me." Tara said. Giles closed the drawer and looked back at her. "It was fine until I touched that book."

"Yes…It did seem rather possessive of that…" He agreed. "What was it, do you suppose?"

"A journal." Tara answered immediately. Of that she was certain. "I recognised some alchemical symbols, hand written. Old, I think."

"Interesting." Giles said quietly, brow creased in thought.

"If it's a ghost, and not…some weird projection or something, could we try asking what it wants?" Tara suggested. Giles raised his eyes to meet hers as he considered the proposition. "I mean, Cat said that when she brought me back I picked up a couple of reaper tricks, so maybe I can control it like she does?"

"It's worth a shot." Giles agreed. He downed his tea and set the now empty mug beside the sink. "Come on, let's try it before anyone comes up for lunch, or the damn thing escapes."

"I don't hear any screaming." Tara said as they left the staff kitchen. "That's a pretty good sign it hasn't moved."

"Let's hope it stays that way." Giles muttered, knowing full well how hard it was to explain away weird supernatural occurrences to average people as rational goings on. He fished the keys from his pocket as they reached the door. Tara cocked her head to listen for any noise within the room but heard nothing. This floor seemed to be empty now save for them and the spirit.

She felt jittery and was able to sense a dark presence ahead of them. She knew it was the awakened spirit manipulating their feelings. Standard spooking techniques. Giles glanced sideways at her as he fit the key in the lock and twisted.

"I hope you know what you're doing." He said. He looked tense. Tara offered him what she hoped was a confident smile. She had no clue what she was doing, and admitting she was about to wing it was probably not the best idea. Giles seemed to believe in her as he pushed down on the door handle and let it swing open inwards. The hinges creaked as it opened slowly, revealing a gloomy interior now lit purely by the windows at the far end. The lights were off, the computer screens dark.

Giles and Tara leaned through the doorway while keeping their feet planted firmly within the corridor and looked around. They could see no sign of the spirit.

Then, one after the other, each computer screen blinked on, showing the library login page. Above them the lights began to hum and finally burst back into life.

Giles sighed.

"Always with the theatrics." He said, motioning for Tara to enter after him as he stepped inside the room. She did so, leaving the door open for…just in case. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. She needed to focus. As far as they knew the 'reaper' aspect that had cropped up in her magic shortly after Cat brought her back to life had been a temporary thing rather than a permanent taint.

"If there is anyone here, please show yourself." She said, attempting to make her tone as authoritative as possible. So perhaps saying 'please' wouldn't help. Nothing happened for a few short seconds. Then the door slammed shut behind them with a loud bang that made her jump.

"Parlour tricks." Giles said, reaching out a comforting hand to touch her arm. "Don't worry."

"We just want to talk, if you have any-" There was suddenly an angry young woman stood in front of her in late 1800s dress. Giles grabbed Tara by the back of her shirt and yanked her backwards, away from the spirit. She stumbled a couple of steps until her shoulders hit the hard wood of the closed door. "Hi…"

"It's my book!" The ghost shouted furiously, advancing until she stood toe to toe with them both. "Mine! You stay away."

"G-get back." Tara told it.

"They're my secrets, my ideas, you can't have them, you-"

"Get _back_." Tara ordered, and the spirit instantly stopped talking and took several steps backwards, looking thoroughly confused. It waited a beat, then swooped off towards the desk where the journal still lay and paced backwards and forwards moaning about its book.

"Well done…" Giles commented, muscles still tense as he watched the ghost.

"Thanks…" Tara muttered, slumping against the door. So, that hadn't gone as well as expected. She could order the ghost to do something and it had to obey for several seconds. But they couldn't talk to it. All it was interested in was its journal. "How do we get rid of it without any of the ingredients for exorcisms or… _anything_?"

"I wonder why it's here?" Giles said, more to himself than Tara. The book was clearly important to it, and it must have travelled here with it. He had heard of many stories where ghosts had haunted objects, usually a personal item, sometimes a murder weapon… In this case it seemed more likely to be the former.

"Well, it's angry, but I don't think it's malevolent. It could have hurt us but didn't. Just knocked the book…" Tara stopped as realization dawned. "The book!" The ghost whipped round to face her.

"It's _mine_!" It screeched, then went back to pacing before the desk.

"The…thing?" Giles asked Tara quietly, deciding to substitute 'book' for 'thing' to stop the spirit becoming too peeved.

"It manifested itself because of the…thing." Tara said, catching on. "So, if we get rid of the thing, we get rid of the ghost, right?"

"Well, yes, but I suspect getting rid of the thing because of the ghost is what wound up with us receiving the thing." Giles replied. Tara gave a wry smile and shook her head.

"I mean…destroying it." She admitted, already feeling guilty for suggesting it. The book was important to the spirit, and said spirit hadn't hurt them or caused too much chaos. It felt like a pretty harsh way of getting rid of it. "That will allow the ghost to pass on, won't it?" Giles raised his eyebrows at Tara.

"I believe so!" He said. "The best method would be fire…" His brow creased as he thought up a way to burn the book.

"I could use magic?" Tara suggested.

"No, you'll need to keep the spirit at bay while I grab the b-thing." He replied. "One of my colleagues smokes, she'll have a lighter in her bag in the staff room. We'll commandeer it, burn the thing, and return the lighter before she notices it's gone."

"Okay, go get the lighter, I'll…babysit the spook." Tara said.

"All right. Be careful." Giles said, squeezing her shoulder once before leaving the room. The ghost didn't even look up as the door opened and closed. Tara shifted her weight uncomfortably, blue eyes on the spirit as it drifted to and fro. She felt uneasy by herself in the same room as a ghost. It made the fine hairs on her arms and the back of her neck prickle and rise. Despite all the demons and vampires she had faced, there was just something about spirits that put her on edge. Though currently the ghost had no interest in her at all. It simply paced backwards and forwards in front of the desk, stiff skirts swishing and hobnailed boots tapping on the wooden floor as it occasionally glanced mournfully at its journal.

While the spirit appeared corporeal enough to slap the journal from her hands, or interfere with the electronics in the room it seemed the ghost was unable to do more than that. It couldn't pick up the journal, and it seemed unable or unwilling to move too far away. If she concentrated hard enough Tara noticed she was able to see objects through the ghost, like it was a shadow or a memory.

Behind her the door opened, and was once again left open, and Giles entered holding a green plastic lighter.

"I think we should do this in the kitchen." Tara told him. "It's going to set off the fire alarms and they'll be able to tell which room triggered it. The kitchen will be easier to explain."

"Burnt toast." Giles nodded. "So…How will we get the book to the kitchen with the ghost guarding it?"

"I have an idea…"

* * *

"Back!" Tara shouted, as Giles ran out into the corridor clutching the ghost's journal. The ghost itself had immediately started shrieking, a look of cold fury in its eyes, but as Tara ordered it away it faltered and instead its face contorted into an expression of pure rage. Tara swallowed and dashed after Giles.

He rounded the corner and stumbled as the enraged spirit materialized in front of him. She screamed as he rushed through her and he shuddered. It felt like walking through icy cold cobwebs.

"Get back!" Tara cried again, glad that no staff had come up yet for lunch. This whole spectacle must look insane… The ghost grit her teeth and growled in her throat at the Wiccan, allowing Giles and Tara to pass once again.

"We must thank Cat when we next see her! This reaper magic is incredibly useful!" Giles called over his shoulder to Tara.

"Noted." She replied, wincing in sympathy as Giles slammed his shoulder into the staff kitchen door and barrelled inside. Tara followed, turning to face the doorway as she entered. "Stay back!" She ordered the ghost and slammed the door in its face as it skidded to a halt outside.

Giles opened the book to bare some of the flammable paper pages and put it in the sink to contain the blaze, then lifted one page and flicked the flint on the lighter to get a flame. He paused though, before touching light to paper as a passage written hastily in black ink caught his eye.

"This is fascinating…" He murmured.

"Giles!" Tara cried. "Burn it!" The ghost whooshed through the door and immediately started screaming as she saw the naked flame in Giles' hand. "STOP!" Tara ordered and the spirit froze in place.

"My book!" She screeched. Giles quickly thrust his hand in the sink and the flame took to the dry paper immediately, much to the spirit's dismay. The plates and cups in the cupboards began to rattle as the spirit continued to wail, stuck in place by Tara's latest command. Smoke curled from her clothes and simultaneously began to billow from the sink as the fire took hold. Finally, as the spirit lunged towards Giles she burst into flames and disappeared.

A shrill ringing echoed through the building as the fire alarms went off, alerted by the smoke in the kitchen. Giles watched the burning book a moment and then turned on the tap in the sink to dowse the flames. Tara heaved a sigh and pushed one hand back through her hair.

"This is definitely not how I imagined my first day."

"I can assure you it's not normally like this." Giles said. "Would you take care of this? I'm going to find Sam and let her know she doesn't need to evacuate the building." Tara nodded and Giles rushed out of the kitchen.

She peered into the sink and wrinkled her nose. The book was a soggy mess, still smoking as it cooled. Most of the pages had burned away, leaving behind a charred mess of black goo where ash had mixed with water. Ink had run from some pages and the rest were stuck together. She shut off the tap then touched one finger to the pages and paused, concentrating hard. There wasn't even a residual sense of magic now. Confident the ghost was well and truly gone, she picked it up by the leather corners of the cover and dropped it into the bin beneath the counter, covering it over with paper towels from the wall dispenser by the sink so no one would see it. She grabbed some more paper towels and began mopping out the mulch from the sink and dumped that into the bin too.

A few minutes later the alarms shut off. Shortly afterwards Giles was back, looking somewhat flustered. Tara offered him a crooked smile.

"Did you get in trouble?" She asked.

"Sam wasn't impressed." He said, clearing his throat. "Where's the book?" Tara pointed to the bin and he nodded. "Good."

"I feel kind of bad." Tara said. "That ghost was really passionate about her book."

"And so she should have been." Giles said. "From the passage I read she was an alchemist working on a spell to make herself immortal. A different take on the philosopher's stone or the elixir of youth. I expect it backfired and turned her into a ghost forever tied to the journal." Tara raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Well. I'm glad she can rest in peace now." She said, hoping that's what the ghost would have wanted. Giles smiled at her.

"Come on. I think we've earned a break." He said, leaving the kitchen and heading towards the staff room.

* * *

Tara and Giles left the library a little after six following a short meeting with Sam to see how Tara felt the day had gone (Tara obviously skimmed over the ghost incident while telling her boss how great the day had been). They made their way wordlessly to Giles' parked car, climbed in, slammed the doors, and both relaxed into the seats with a sigh.

"That was a long day." Tara murmured, feeling drained. Her shoulders ached from lifting heavy boxes of donations down onto her desk and her neck felt stiff from hunching over her computer.

"Not too long, I hope?" Giles asked as he pulled his seat belt across himself and fastened it. Tara smiled and shook her head, doing the same as Giles pushed the key into ignition and started the engine.

"No. I…actually had a good day, believe it or not." She settled into her seat for the drive home. "I'm looking forwards to tomorrow."


	7. Chapter 6

Flo was a seventeen year old photography student. Night time street photography was her favourite, usually photographing people, but this time she wanted to do something different. That's why she was breaking into the construction site in the dead of night. For art. Besides, it wasn't hard. There were no security guards and no cameras that she could see. The street wasn't particularly well lit so no one would see her from the nearby houses and report her for breaking and entering.

The bare bones of what she assumed would become high-rise apartment building rose above a tall fence of temporary wooden panels painted deep blue with the construction company's name and logo printed on them. She paused and adjusted her heavy backpack across her shoulders as she prepared to climb over the boards. Inside she had stuffed her camera and a torch. Precious equipment.

She took a few steps back from the fence, bounced on her toes, then ran forwards and leaped as high as she could, arms stretched upwards and fingers grasping. She caught hold of the top of the fence and pulled upwards, green Converse slipping against the glossy paintwork. The rubber soles squeaked loudly as she scrabbled for purchase. Finally she hauled herself up and over, and dropped down onto uneven ground. She turned towards the building, pausing by the fence to unsling her backpack from one shoulder. She unzipped the main pouch and rummaged inside for her torch, pulled it out and clicked it on. A bright white cone of light swept the site, penetrating the gloom around her. It revealed several skips filled with debris, a couple of wheelbarrows and earth packed hard by hundreds of footprints and the treads of heavy duty machines. The building loomed straight ahead surrounded by scaffolding and plastic sheeting that rippled in the wind and rustled loudly. An orange plastic waste disposal chute ran from the very top of the scaffolding down to the bottom and into a metal skip. As her beam passed the edge of the scaffolding she could just about make out the shape of the metal containers that made up the site manager's 'office' and storage.

Flo reached into her bag and took out her camera, hanging it around her neck from the strap, then zipped up her backpack and returned it to both shoulders. She decided to get a few shots of the surrounding site before moving into the building.

She entered through a large rectangular hole in the side of the building that she assumed would one day become a set of double doors. Inside was bare concrete flooring and bare walls. Above her wires and cables sprouted from the ceiling, presumably waiting to be wired up to lights. There was a heavy smell of plaster and dust in the air that irritated her nose. She took a few photos, then decided to head back outside and climb the ladders and ramps of the scaffolding to the top to see what views that offered.

It took her a while, climbing ladders while making sure her camera was safe from bumping into the rungs, and she felt hot by the time she reached the top level and turned to face the city.

It wasn't so high that she could see for miles, but it was high enough that she could roughly see the grid lay out of lights twinkling in the distance. The wind felt harsher, too, making the scaffolding creak, the tough plastic sheeting whipping against the metal poles with a faint ringing noise. She peeked over the side, straight down at the ground and swallowed hard. It was a long way down…The drop made her feel dizzy. The guys working up here must be nuts. She would want safety lines securing her to the railings.

She made her way inside and decided to get some shots through the empty windows of the views over the city. She was inspecting her latest photograph in the panel on the back of her camera when she became aware of a strange smell. Like…rubbish rotting or…maybe off meat? She wrinkled her nose in disgust wondering if it was coming from the remains of a workman's lunch left behind, or the wind lifting a scent from the city below. A cold shiver ran the length of her spine and crawled across her scalp. The unmistakable feeling that something was wrong…her brain trying to warn her of something it couldn't yet comprehend. Flo let her camera drop against her chest and scooped up her torch from where she had set it down on the floor to free up both hands. She clicked it on and whirled around, sweeping the gloom behind herself. Nothing was there.

It was late, and she was tired. She had been here long enough. She should head home, get some sleep. Her sleep deprived brain was obviously playing tricks on her. She clicked off the torch and turned back to face the window and screamed. Where before there had been nothing, there now stood some… _thing_ that towered above her. Pale silver eyes burned bright in the darkness, glaring down at her from a relatively human face. It was gaunt, like the photos shown in school of world war two prison camp victims, but Flo didn't for one second doubt the strength in those wiry limbs.

Cracked lips pulled back from stained brown teeth, chipped and broken and razor sharp. The torch in Flo's hand slipped from nerveless fingers and clattered loudly onto the concrete floor. The glass cracked and splintered as it rolled away and came to a halt with a bump against one wall. She took a step backwards. The creature slowly hunched down, arms spreading out from its body. Rags clung to its emaciated form. Clothes that might once have been a cotton T-shirt and jeans, but were now rotting on the frame they used to adorn. She saw on one forearm the faded ink of a tribal tattoo.

She screamed as the monster sprang at her. One hand swiped and blood spattered the wall, and the scream was instantly cut off.

* * *

Xander had parked his car in the usual spot on an empty road by the construction site and sat inside a moment swapping his trainers for steel toe-capped boots. He threw open the door and got out before then strapping on his tool belt and grabbing his bright blue plastic hard hat from the passenger seat. It was a cold morning, still dark due to the early hour. The street lights were still on. He slammed the car door shut and locked the vehicle, then made his way onto the site to find he was one of the first there. Ross, a burly young builder with a thick brown beard that picked up all the plaster dust while he worked waved at him as he saw Xander and hurried over. He was in a good mood. Not only was it Friday, but he had a date that night and was pretty optimistic about it. The look on Ross' face suggested that mood was probably about to be ruined.

"Xander, glad you're here." Ross said. "I just got here myself. Someone mentioned seeing lights from up top late last night."

"Lights?" Xander frowned at his colleague, who nodded.

"One of the residents across the street said so while I was parking up. Should we check it out?" He asked. Xander sighed and started towards the scaffolding, motioning for Ross to follow.

"I knew we should have hired security." He grumbled, hoping the resident had been mistaken and that he wouldn't find graffiti spray painted across the walls of the building, or some other kind of vandalism.

They climbed the ladders to the top level of scaffolding. Despite the cool morning air Xander found himself overheating by the time he stood on the rough wooden platform at the top of the building. He tipped his hardhat back and wiped his forearm across his forehead to try and dry off some of the sweat that beaded there. It made his scalp itch beneath the plastic straps of his hat.

Behind him the sky was just starting to lighten, casting a soft grey light across the opening of the apartment in front of him. Looking down he saw a thin trickle of red creeping across the floor of the doorway, crimson in stark contrast with the pale concrete. He could smell it too. Thick and salty and metallic. A sense of unease settled over him.

"Anything?" Ross asked, reaching the top of the ladder behind him. He paused to catch his breath by the railings.

"Stay here." Xander answered and stepped forwards, pausing just before the doorway. He took a deep breath, wished he hadn't as he caught a lungful of what he hoped wasn't the scent of blood, and stepped through.

His breath caught in his throat. Even in the semi darkness it was a scene from a nightmare. He felt his stomach heave, grit his teeth and swallowed the urge to vomit. Spots danced in his vision and he began to breathe again, shallowly through his mouth.

"Oh jeez…" It was one person, he was relatively sure. But whoever it was…well…was _everywhere_.

He turned and rushed back outside, straight to the railings. He grabbed hold of one to steady himself and took several deep breaths, trying to settle his stomach. He could feel that bacon sandwich just churning away…Oh, God, why did he have to have a bacon sandwich…?

"Uh…You okay?" Ross asked him nervously. Xander vigorously shook his head, holding the metal pole so tightly his knuckles had turned white.

"You have to call the police." He said. "There's a…body." He swallowed hard. Ross' eyebrows crawled up into his hairline.

"What…?" He asked slowly. Xander glanced up at him and watched as the colour drained from his friend's face, as he fully understood Xander's words, and realized Xander spoke the truth.

Xander looked back down at the site below him, dimly aware of Ross moving away and pulling his mobile phone from the pocket of his baggy, paint-stained jeans.

Animal attack.

The word came to him suddenly, as he tried to block the grisly visuals from his mind. The police would tell the public it was an animal attack. What was such an animal doing at the top of a tower block under construction? What was a…currently unidentifiable person doing at the top of a tower block under construction?

Xander squeezed his eyes shut tight. Buffy would have questions…Questions he would need to know the answers to. He swallowed hard, opened his eyes. Feeling somewhat numb he turned back to the doorway and stepped mechanically through. Taking slow, deep breaths through his mouth he glanced around the room, eyes staying clear of the…mess in the middle. He could feel his pulse throbbing in his head, racing erratically as he tried to fight down the rising panic.

He saw a torch against one wall, a broken camera with a torn strap against another, splashes of blood against walls and…deep scours in the concrete. Like claw marks. Animalistic, yes, but, in his experience, probably demonic in origin. The whole room smelt of a horrible mixture of blood and death. Did corpses rot that fast? He wasn't sure, but it was fast cutting down the length of time he could spend surveying the scene. In the blood spatters surrounding the…remains he saw smears like footprints, but they weren't human. More like some kind of…paw print? About the size of his hand.

He glanced quickly down at the corpse, then quickly turned away. Yup. Definitely torn apart. That was enough Sherlock Holmes-ing for the day. He turned away and went back outside just as Ross finished his phone call and turned to face Xander.

"Cops will be here soon." He said. "Forensics are going to steal our shoes."

"Thank God it's Friday." Xander muttered.

* * *

The police arrived and seized control of the construction site immediately, sealing it off until further notice. A forensics team turned up in full crime scene suits and face masks, lugging heavy bags of equipment, and were soon combing the entire area. A coroner's van was parked outside the area amongst several police cars.

Xander spent most of the morning giving the police a statement. When he was eventually released he was sent on his way with no shoes and holding a card with the investigating officer's name on it, in case he remembered anything important…

He sighed and pocketed the card, then barrelled his way through the journalists that had accumulated around the police tape barrier blocking off the site and sprinted to his car. Safe inside the vehicle he pulled on his trainers and tossed aside his hard hat and tool belt. He should head home. Eat lunch, try to unwind. He would need to speak to Buffy and Giles later about the incident. Until then, he could do with a hot shower and a stiff drink. He turned the keys in the ignition and pulled away from the curb, heading home and trying not to think about what he had seen at the top of that tower.

Xander had been right about Buffy having a load of questions to ask him about what he had seen. As if he hadn't been grilled enough by the police! At least she hadn't rephrased the same questions a billion times to try and trip him up.

"If you don't mind, Buff, I think I'm gunna go hurl now." He told his friend, perched on the very edge of her sofa. Buffy smiled at him apologetically.

"Sorry, it does sound pretty grisly." She said. The smell of Tara frying chicken in the kitchen wasn't helping to settle his stomach at all. Willow was in there with her. He could hear them chatting. They had had normal days, no supernatural nasties leaving gross surprises behind for them. "Want me to grab you a glass of water?"

"No, I'm okay." Xander said, smiling faintly at Buffy. "Just… Don't make me tell it all again to Giles. I want to forget I ever saw it. I don't think I ever _will_ , but I want to."

"I'll fill Giles in, don't worry." Buffy said. "And the others. I'll make sure they don't ask for all the gory details."

"You know, I heard about it on the radio!" Dawn piped up, bounding in from where she had been hovering just outside the kitchen, eavesdropping on them both.

"Were you listening in?" Buffy demanded. Dawn faltered on her way over to join them on the sofa.

"No…" She answered cagily.

"Right…" Buffy muttered, leaning back on the sofa with her arms folded over her chest. Dawn sandwiched herself between them both.

"Anyway. It was on the radio at work, and the cops are telling people it was a wild animal attack. Not saying _what_ animal, and really, who's going to believe that some huge animal climbed the top of a tower to maul someone to death and eat them?" She rolled her eyes at the apparent stupidity. Xander swallowed hard and Buffy patted his knee sympathetically.

"I'm guessing you won't be staying for dinner?" She asked playfully.

"I think I'll pass." He replied.

* * *

Xander and Mona had arranged to meet at a late night coffee shop. Here they could actually talk and get to know each other, which wouldn't really be possible if they went to the cinema without the risk of being thrown out for disturbing the movie, and there was none of the awkwardness of watching each other eat food at a restaurant. Plus, if she turned out to be some kind of demon then there were plenty of witnesses around in the well-lit shop to dissuade her from attacking him, and the police station and hospital were nearby. All in all, Xander was pretty pleased with the place he had chosen for their first date.

It was late, so not too busy. A radio played softly from behind the counter where a couple of baristas cleaned the surfaces and machinery between serving customers. He could smell the warm scent of coffee beans and sugary cakes. The place had a relaxed air to it, soothing first date jitters. Or…That could be regular caffeine jitters. He had turned up early and was already halfway through his first coffee.

He had balanced the balls of his feet on the metal foot rest of the tall chair he sat in, but one kept slipping off as he jiggled his leg frantically, his subconscious working off those jitters. He would definitely have to swap to hot cocoa for his next drink. Hopefully if he placed the order for both of them Mona wouldn't notice…

He sat up poker straight as he saw Mona pass by the glass front of the coffee shop on her way to the door. She looked pretty much the same as she had at the party-black clothes, fair skin, long black hair…kind of Goth. As she shoved open the heavy door and entered her eyes homed in on him instantly and she smiled and waved, rushing over to dump her bag beside the empty chair opposite Xander.

"Hi! Sorry I'm late, work was murder." She rolled her eyes as she shrugged out of her heavy black coat.

"Oh, I know how you feel…" Xander said with a wry smile. "What can I get you?" He asked, standing up with his mug in one hand.

"Americano, please." She said, taking her seat. "Black. Like my soul!" She grinned up at him and Xander had to laugh.

"Coming right up!" He turned away and hurried to the bar, ordering her Americano and a hot cocoa for himself. He finished his own coffee and put the empty mug on the counter to be cleared away, then glanced back over his shoulder at Mona to find her watching him intensely, chin on fist. He shot back a goofy grin and quickly turned back to the counter to pay as his drinks were made, kicking himself mentally. His stomach was tying itself in knots. He was on a date. An actual date. His first since…well…since Sunnydale was above ground. Had it always been this hard? To act smooth rather than geeky? Well, for him, yes. After all, he was an enormous geek.

He thanked the barista as the drinks were set on the counter in front of him, picked up the mugs and carefully carried them over to the table.

"Thanks, what did you get?" She asked curiously as she took her mug from him, able to smell something…sweet and bitter.

"Um…Coffee." Xander answered vaguely, pulling his mug closer to himself as he sat down, all but hugging it to him.

"Smells like mocha." She said. "A good choice."

"Yes. Yes it is." Xander said, and she gave him a knowing smile. He cleared his throat. "Well, you know, I'd normally go for a double espresso but then I'll be up all night so…" He shrugged. "Mocha." _Nice save, X-man, nice save._

"Of course." She said. "I don't intend to sleep for a while yet, so I'm good." She lifted her black coffee and sipped, dark eyes on his as she did so. Xander gulped.

* * *

The date went well, he felt. They had both been relaxed around each other, chatting, joking, laughing (she had even laughed at some of his jokes which was a first). He had insisted on buying the drinks all evening, proving to her, he hoped, that he was a gentleman, and thus escaping her noticing he was drinking hot cocoa… She had refused his offer of muffins and snacks so he suspected she was on a diet and filed away that knowledge for later in the hope of racking up some brownie points in the 'I was paying attention' department.

They parted ways just after eleven, Mona even kissing his cheek before climbing into a taxi and heading home. Her lips felt cool against his skin and left behind a smudge of dark lipstick.

Xander smiled and waved until the vehicle turned the corner, then began the short walk home to his apartment. He stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets and let his feet carry him as he mulled over the evening.

Currently he didn't really feel like entering into a relationship, serious or no. Wounds were still open and needed to heal fully well before he could start seeing someone with a clear conscience. That said they had agreed to meet up again at some point in the near future, and he fully intended to keep texting her. He liked her and she liked him, and that's all that was important at the moment.

It was nice to have a friend outside of the usual group. No weirdness. Uncomplicated.

He smiled to himself as he withdrew his keys from his trouser pocket. It had been a nice ending to what had started out as a terrible day.


	8. Chapter 7

Dawn stood in the back yard of the coffee shop with Ryan and Lisa waiting for Casey to finish changing out of her work clothes in the staff bathroom. Ryan kept anxiously casting his gaze to the heavens, and the angry black clouds gathering overhead that further darkened the sky. It looked as though the storm would break at any moment.

"Sheesh, how long does it take to change your clothes?" He asked, glancing back at the rear doors that stubbornly remained Casey-less. "I mean, it's a pre-picked outfit! …Right?"

"No, Ryan, she packed her entire wardrobe and brought it to work." Dawn commented dryly, while picking coffee grounds out from beneath her fingernails. She had ducked into the bathroom quickly before Casey to swap her work shirt for a clean T-shirt and hoody ready to head on over to Lisa's for their movie marathon that night. They had to be back at the coffee shop the following morning for their Sunday shifts, but would be starting late enough that should they get a late night (as they inevitably would), it wouldn't matter. Sunday was slow, didn't require as much multitasking and concentration as a Saturday.

"Unlike you, we can't just strip off and change in the middle of the staff room." Lisa told Ryan, arching one eyebrow pointedly.

"Yeah, thanks for that…" Dawn muttered. As soon as they entered the staff room together, Ryan had whipped off his work shirt and swapped it for the clean sweater he now wore.

"You loved it." He grinned shamelessly at them.

"Oh, yeah, those skinny ribs really do it for me." Lisa elbowed him. Casey bounded out through the fire doors then, changed and ready to go in clean jeans, a band T and a hoody.

"Finally!" Ryan cried in mock exasperation. "Can't you see it's going to rain?" Casey looked up at the sky and shrugged.

"Sorry, wanted to wash the coffee off myself first." She said. Dawn wished she had thought of that. Her palms were gritty with it. "Is Buffy walking us home?" She asked her friend playfully, nudging her with one elbow. Dawn glowered in response.

"No." She said. "She's entrusting our lives to Ryan." Casey and Lisa snorted. Ryan puffed out his chest proudly.

"This way, ladies! You're safe with me!" He said, bounding off ahead. The girls exchanged looks of amusement and followed him out onto the street.

* * *

They were arguing over pizza toppings around the dining table in Lisa's home when the rain started. It began with the sky growing noticeably darker still, then light a pattering of raindrops against the windows. Seconds later the water was falling in torrents and the wind began to gust, driving the rain into the side of the house.

Ryan let out a low whistle.

"We got in just in time, then." He commented, as they had barely been in the house ten minutes.

"Does this mean we have to tip the pizza guy for delivering?" Casey asked. "Because I only bought enough cash for my share of food."

"I'm sure he'll understand." Dawn told her.

"Yeah, well, for him to deliver the pizza we actually have to order it." Lisa said pointedly, glaring at Ryan who was insisting on adding anchovies. He rolled his eyes and threw up his hands in surrender.

"Omigod, okay, fine! No fishies!"

Lisa let out a victory whoop, punching the air above her head, and dashed off to ring through their order while Dawn counted out their money ready to hand over as soon as their dinner arrived. She had to admit looking over the menu had made her realize just how hungry she was. She could feel the first rumbles beginning in her gut, and coughed to hide the sound from her friends, casting about a furtive glance to make sure she hadn't been figured out. She needn't have bothered as Casey and Ryan were now bickering over which horror movie they would be watching first. Casey was firmly against watching _Saw_ while trying to have dinner.

"Pizza's gunna be half hour." Lisa said, coming back into the dining room from the kitchen. "Shall we get the movies started?"

"They're working on it." Dawn told her.

"I'm sorry if I want to enjoy my food rather than feel like puking. Can we _not_ start with a movie about torture?" Casey asked. Ryan patted her shoulder comfortingly.

"Maybe _Hocus Pocus_ is more to your tastes." He said playfully, and she swatted his arm. Dawn brightened at that.

"Do you have that? I love that movie!" She announced. Ryan arched one eyebrow at her.

"I brought horror movies, Dawn." He said. " _Horror_. We are to be horrified."

"Oh, yay." Casey remarked drily.

By the time the pizza arrived they had only just decided on a film and put the DVD into the family Xbox. Lisa and Ryan got up to answer the door and bring the food in, leaving the door open so that the scent of melting cheese and hot peperoni filtered through from the hallway, along with the sound of the pounding rain.

"I hope it's not raining when we go to work in the morning…" Casey said, shuddering at the thought of walking through the downpour.

"Well, that's like…" Dawn quickly did the maths. "Fifteen hours from now, so unlikely…" Casey stuck out her tongue at her.

"Dinner is served!" Ryan announced, sweeping in with the pizza box balanced on the palm of one hand. On top of the box he had stacked the foil containers of garlic bread and hot wings, while Lisa followed with two large bottles of Coke. Condensation beaded on the plastic and dripped onto the floor as she made her way over to the coffee table. Ryan set down the food while Lisa opened one of the bottles, leaving the other on the floor. They sat on the floor at either end of the coffee table, while Casey and Dawn stayed on the sofa to watch the film while eating.

"I'm so hungry…" Dawn moaned, grabbing a slice of pizza the instant Ryan had lifted the lid on the box. Melting mozzarella stretched between the box and the slice in her hand, causing Lisa to send her a nervous look.

"Please don't drop anything…" She said. "I'm dead if my parents figure out I've had you all round."

"Sorry…" Dawn replied, looking suitably apologetic. She broke the string of cheese and wound it around her slice before stuffing it in her mouth. "Isho goo'…" She moaned around her mouthful, one hand cupped beneath her slice to catch any food that might fall and stain the couch or carpet.

"Ya know," Ryan commented while selecting a hot wing for himself. "This is perfect weather for a horror movie marathon."

"What? Extreme rain?" Casey asked without taking her eyes from the TV screen.

"Very spooky." Dawn smirked at him. Ryan rolled his eyes.

"It's all gloomy and noisy. Don't tell me crazy weather doesn't even _slightly_ give you the wiggins?"

Lisa grunted in the negative while licking pizza grease from her fingers.

"It's mainly just annoying. Especially when it's just a rain storm. Bring on the thunder! I want to witness the destructive power of nature!" She said. Casey shot her a bewildered look.

"For real?" She squeaked. "Thunder means lightning and that means boom! Roof gone. Potentially."

"The odds of that happening are very slim." Dawn said, piling stretched cheese on top of her latest slice of pizza. "Here you're more likely to be bitten by a vampire than hit by lightning." The others paused their eating to stare at her, and she realized suddenly what she had said. She swallowed her food and offered a weak grin. "Kidding…?"

"Oh, sorry, you just sounded so serious." Ryan chuckled. "Good one, though!" He bit happily into his chicken wing. Dawn just smiled and shrugged and hid her embarrassment by reaching for another slice of pizza.

It was confusing sometimes. Switching between the Scooby gang and regular people. Going between conversations on how to avert the latest apocalypse or the best method of killing a ghoul, and what shoes go with what dress or what the latest movies are. No wonder Buffy had such a small circle of friends. Kept to those who were in on the world's bizarre and badly kept secret. Average Joe, blissfully ignorant of the monsters and magics, would just consider her weird. Or maybe quirky.

It was kind of sad that she had this part of herself, a huge part of her life that she couldn't share with her friends. They wouldn't understand, wouldn't believe. It made them feel distant, somehow.

She heaved a sigh as she finished her pizza, tore off a strip of paper kitchen towel brought through by Lisa and wiped her hands on it as she sat back on the sofa, eyes on the TV, well and truly stuffed. These movies didn't scare her any more now that she knew the ways to deal with ghosts and demons. The human horrors, things like _Saw_ or _Scream_ , spooked her a little. How to defend against a sadistic man hell bent on torturing relatively innocent people?

"I swear if this ever happened to me I'd lock myself in my closet until it ended." Casey announced, shuddering as she watched Ghostface stalking his prey.

"Barricading yourself into a tiny room with no escape is the worst plan of action _ever_." Ryan told her.

"Grab a weapon and bale." Dawn said. "It's just a guy with a knife."

" _We_ know that because we're watching it." Casey said. "How does _she_ know that?" Dawn looked sideways at her and grinned playfully, as she thought of all the possible things he could be if he wasn't just a guy with a knife.

"I don't think locking herself away in a closet will fix that." She said.

"Besides." Lisa said in a teasing tone. "Monsters live in closets." Casey rolled her eyes.

"Well, actually…" Dawn started, about to explain the closet monster was just an urban legend and had very little evidence to back it up. She immediately faltered as her friends looked expectantly at her. "That's a very good point."

* * *

As the credits for the final movie rolled Ryan suggested they tell each other ghost stories. The rain still came down in torrents outside, lashing the house as the wind howled, causing the long spindly branches of the trees lining the street to reach like fingers for the windows of Lisa's home and scrape the glass. Perfect.

Lisa turned off the lights and they gathered in a circle on the floor, storyteller holding onto a torch and aiming the beam upwards to eerily light up their face as they spoke, telling each other spooky campfire tales and urban legends.

"…Turned out she hadn't seen a man outside, she'd seen the _reflection_ of a man standing behind her… _inside_ …" Ryan finished dramatically.

"That's so stupid." Casey said, and Ryan instantly deflated. "How could you not realize someone's inside with you?"

"Yeah, I'm not feeling the scare." Dawn admitted.

"Well, your stories were lame too!" Ryan pouted.

"I have an idea of something scary we could do." Lisa said. Ryan aimed the torch beam over at her, lighting up the smirk on her face.

"Yes…?" Casey asked her suspiciously. She didn't like the gleefully rebellious look on her friend's face.

"Wait here." Lisa climbed to her feet and dashed out of the living room and into the hallway. Seconds later they could hear her running up the stairs to her bedroom.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Casey asked as they waited.

"It's unlikely any of us will." Ryan said.

"Sounds ominous." Dawn agreed.

Lisa came rushing back down the stairs and into the living room, triumphantly grasping an A4 print out. She dropped onto the floor indian style and held out the paper.

"Found it online." She said excitedly. "I was thinking, what awesome stuff could we round off the horror movies with? At first I thought séance or Ouija board but _everyone_ does that!"

Dawn felt a distinctly uncomfortable gnawing sensation in her gut. Apprehension.

"Go on…" Ryan said, looking curious. Lisa flashed a daredevil grin and slapped the paper down on the floor between them all.

"We're going to raise a spirit."

"Cool!" Ryan cried.

"No!" Casey and Dawn insisted as one. They looked at each other in surprise, then turned their gaze to Ryan and Lisa who weren't looking impressed.

"You can't do something like that." Dawn insisted.

"It's dangerous." Casey added. "You hear all the time about stuff going wrong."

"All the time?" Ryan repeated slowly, raising one eyebrow. Casey flushed.

"Okay, maybe not _all_ the time but…This is how horror movies get plots!" She gestured wildly at the TV. " _Blaire Witch Project_ , _Long Time Dead, The Mummy_!" She counted them off on her fingers. "They all messed with stuff they shouldn't. C'mon, guys, let's not do this."

" _The Mummy_ is a comedy…" Ryan pointed out. "As is _Scream_ , by the way."

"Chicken." Lisa sniggered.

"You have no idea what you're messing with!" Dawn said with more force than she meant to use. "It's a bad idea. _Bad_."

"Oh, come on, you can't seriously believe in this crap?" Ryan asked. Dawn hesitated a moment, then her resolve set.

"You know what? I do. And I _know_ we shouldn't be doing it. Okay? And if you're going to do it then I'm leaving and you can deal with the fallout alone." She glared across the printout at Lisa. She wouldn't. She would never abandon her friends to deal with the unknown alone. Who knew what they would raise? If anything. It was probably just some bogus spell that would come to nothing. But when the magics were involved…anything could happen.

Casey sat eyeing her friends nervously, waiting for the conclusion.

Finally, Lisa rolled her eyes.

"Jeez, all right! We won't do it!" She grabbed the sheet of paper, bunched it up and chucked it over her shoulder. "Gone." She spread her hands and scowled at Dawn. "Happy?"

Dawn didn't answer.

"It's three a.m. We have work later, let's just go to bed." Casey said diplomatically, sensing a little hostility between the pair.

"Right." Dawn said. "I'll go wash up for bed then." She stood up and stalked out of the room. Casey stayed in the living room all of three seconds before the awkward silence became too much and she darted after Dawn, swiping her toothbrush from her bag on the way.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly as they reached the top of the stairs together. Dawn sighed and nodded. "Is it because of the Wiccans?" Dawn looked sideways at her.

"Willow and Tara?" She clarified and Casey nodded.

"Teaching you about magic and…stuff."

"I guess." Dawn admitted. "I just…There is a whole load of stuff in this world we shouldn't mess with, and that's a big one."

"Agreed." Casey muttered, shoving open the bathroom door and stepping inside. She held the door for Dawn. "I read up a lot on paranormal stuff and seriously. This is like how every story starts. Kids messing around with things they know nothing about, treating it like a game, then bam!" She pounded a fist into her palm for emphasis. "Quadruple homicide!"

"I wish I had your positive outlook on life." Dawn told her, squeezing a line of toothpaste onto the bristles of her brush. She handed the tube over to Casey while jamming the brush in her mouth.

"Hey, you say that, but I would totally outlive all of you. I see danger lurking in every shadow." Casey grinned at her. Dawn shrugged and nodded, looking amused. There wasn't much she could say with a mouthful of Aquafresh.

Casey opened her mouth to start brushing her teeth when they heard a muffled boom outside that rattled the house.

"…What was that?" Casey asked. It had sounded like a canon blast, a sonic boom. Dawn spat out her mouthful of foam, heart hammering behind her ribs. She rinsed her mouth out and stood up, ears straining. It hadn't been thunder. In fact, she was dead certain it had been a skyquake. Something that usually proceeded the arrival of something otherworldy on this plane… That was when the shouting started downstairs. She threw down her toothbrush and ran, blasting out of the bathroom and sprinting down the stairs back into the living room.

"What'd you do? What'd you do?!" She demanded of her friends, skidding to a halt beside them. Ryan pointed with a shaking finger. Dawn followed his gaze and took a step back in surprise. Casey dashed in behind her, palming the light switch as she entered.

"What's going o-oh sweet Jesus…" She stumbled into the back of Dawn and just about stopped her toothbrush depositing toothpaste into her friend's hair.

Opposite them all, at the other end of the living room, stood a six foot tall athletic man with pale blue skin and pitch black eyes wearing nothing but rawhide trousers. His hair was brilliant white, short, and swept back from his face in spikes. His ears were long and pointed like knife blades, and he was smiling wickedly at them all. On the floor before him lay the smoothed out sheet of A4 with whatever spell Lisa had discovered online printed on it.

Dawn knew what it was as well, the 'man' stood leering at them from across the room. She had seen pictures in Tara's books. She rounded on Ryan and Lisa.

"You summoned a fairy?!" She snapped. Ryan gaped at the blue man.

"That's a _fairy_?!" He squeaked. The fairy grinned broadly at him, revealing far too many needle sharp fangs. It hissed at them, and Dawn realized with a chill that it was laughing. She struggled to remember spells or facts or _anything_ that would help get rid of this thing, send it back home. Came up empty. Then she saw it shift its weight, coil back into one leg.

"Move!" She cried, seconds before it sprang forward. The four friends scattered in a panic. Casey yelped and threw her toothbrush at it, turned to run, but he caught her by the ankle and dragged her back. The toothbrush had, unsurprisingly, bounced harmlessly from his head. Lisa bolted from the room.

Casey screamed as she went down and clawed desperately at the carpet for purchase. Dawn threw herself into the fairy's side, knocking him off balance down onto one knee. But it was like running into a glacier. His skin was icy cold and hard and she simply bounced off and landed on her butt on the floor. He seized Casey by the shoulder and made to bite her. Instead, Lisa charged back into the room wielding a wooden baseball bat and swung it in a prize-winning arc with a yell. Blue Man dropped Casey and caught the bat in one hand. Lisa gulped as he stood up, not letting go of the bat. Towering over her, he locked eyes and tightened his grip. The wood creaked under the strain until the bat splintered in his palm, shards of wood spraying in all directions. Lisa whimpered as he dropped the pieces, brushed off the splinters onto his trousers, all the while grinning wildly at her.

"I'm so grounded…"

The fairy backhanded her and she flew across the room with a pained shriek, slammed into the wall above the TV and fell to the floor where she lay groaning. The TV wobbled on its stand, threatening to fall.

Ryan raced from the kitchen with a vegetable knife in one hand and a frying pan in the other. He dropped both as Casey was thrown bodily across the room at him. They crashed into each other and were bowled over across the coffee table which gave an ominous crack but remained standing.

"I'm okay!" Ryan gasped, sitting up right away.

The fairy rounded on Dawn. She backed off slowly, moving around so that he had his back to Lisa. She dropped to her knees and held up her hands, glaring defiantly up at him.

"I'm the sister of the slayer!" She announced. He stopped and regarded her with amusement, head tipped to one side, teeth bared in a hideous grin. His hands twitched at his sides, fingernails thick black claws at the ends of long spindly fingers. She swallowed hard. "The chosen one. You know how it goes. Into every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the slayer. And she will kick your butt." She paused. The fairy gave his hissing laugh again. "Oh, you think that's funny do you?" Her voice had become shrill. Pannicked. "Well…Um…I'm the former key!" The fairy started forwards. "You better stop! Because…Um…Uh...I'm running out of things to say!"

"No problem!" Lisa finished ninja-ing across the room and leaped, whipping the Xbox plug-and-play cord over the fairy's head as she jumped onto his back and yanked back hard, driving one knee between his shoulder blades to brace herself. The cord tightened around his neck. The fairy choked, then reached back and pulled Lisa over his shoulders, hurling her onto the floor. Dawn dived out of the way, hearing from behind her Lisa give a loud 'oof!' as she landed on her back and the air was driven from her lungs. Then she choked as the fairy placed a foot on her chest and pressed down, slowly crushing her rib cage.

Dawn leaped to her feet, landing in a fighting stance. Buffy had taught her more than a few moves in the past, she knew what to do.

She lashed out with one foot, connecting with the side and back of his knee. His leg buckled inwards, bringing him down. As he landed awkwardly on one knee she smashed an elbow into the side of his head, rammed a knee in between his shoulders and forced him down onto his front with her on his back. She scooped up Ryan's fallen knife and drove the point home between his shoulder blades, forcing it through bone and muscle, pulled out, rammed it in again and again until the fairy stopped moving. Blood oozed thick and black from the wound, seeping into the carpet beneath the body. It covered her hands and front strangely cold and sticky. Dawn rolled free of the body and leaned her back against the sofa, breathing hard.

"Damn girl, you got moves!" Ryan broke the silence, praising Dawn for taking out the killer fairy. Dawn glared at him.

"What did I say about meddling with forces you don't know anything about?" She snapped.

"You knew this would happen." Lisa said softly, sliding into a sitting position and wincing at the aches and bruises she could already feel.

"Yes." Dawn found a clean part of her T-shirt to wipe her hands on. Then, "No. It might have been a duff spell. But I knew it _could_ happen."

"Good job you were here." Casey said. "You seemed to know what you were doing."

"Standard." Dawn said coolly, biting back the pride she felt at their being impressed. Taking part in Scooby gang escapades she wasn't often having her praises sung. For them, taking out the bad guy was all in a day's work. With these guys? She was practically a super hero. "Couldn't have done it without you guys." She added. Some superheroes were modest.

"So…All the stuff with monsters… _vampires_ …" Lisa said nervously, recalling Dawn's earlier odd comments, "it's all real?"

"Pretty much." Dawn nodded grimly. "But don't worry. There's a whole bunch of slayers and people like me to take care of it."

"I had no idea." Ryan said, looking more than a little dazed as he regarded the body of the monster he and Lisa had summoned. The vegetable knife still stood upright, sunk up to the handle between its shoulders. The blood was congealing slowly. Lisa followed his gaze and wrinkled her nose.

"Ugh, I am so totally grounded. My family gets back in like…ten hours! How am I going to explain this?!"

"I know just who to call…" Dawn said, sliding a hand into her trouser pocket and pulling out her phone.

"What, at four in the morning?" Casey asked, massaging the stiffness from her neck. She ached everywhere right now. Being thrown about by a six foot tall fairy has that effect.

"She won't mind." Dawn said dismissively, scrolling through her phone and dialling.

* * *

Cat did mind. She minded a lot. It was the first night of undisturbed sleep she had had in a week. Undisturbed, that is, until the shrill beeping and buzzing of her phone rudely dragged her from the warm fuzziness of peaceful slumber in an instant.

Dawn had explained the situation, and genuinely sounded apologetic at Cat's groggy tone, but the reaper had agreed to come to the rescue. That was how she came to be dashing across town at five O'clock in the morning weighed down by a heavy rucksack stuffed with the bits and pieces needed to dispose of the evidence left behind by the fairy fight.

Rain hammered her the whole way there, cascading from the heavens in torrents. Cat had to squint to see. Even with the streetlights illuminating the roads, all she could see was a watery grey blur. Wind gusted, howling around telephone wires and driving rain harder into her as she rushed to Lisa's house. By the time she arrived she looked like she had taken a swim fully clothed. She stood shivering beneath the cover of the porch and pressed one numb finger to the doorbell. No sooner had she pulled her finger back, the door was being opened by Dawn, who ushered the reaper inside quickly, glancing around outside as though expecting the neighbours to be spying on them.

"Thanks for coming, Cat." She said, closing the door behind them and turning to face her friend. Cat stood on the doormat, water running from her soaked clothes in rivulets to pool at her feet.

"No problem." She said bitterly, unable to hide the scowl from her face. Dawn cleared her throat awkwardly.

"I'd have called Buffy but…" She smiled weakly and shrugged.

"She'd have gutted you, I know. Secret's safe with me." Cat dropped her heavy rucksack on the floor with a clank and pulled off her leather jacket, leaving it hanging on a free coat hook by the door. She shook off as much rain water as she could, kicked off her boots and picked up her rucksack to follow Dawn through to the living room.

She twitched an eyebrow at the sight that greeted her. Dawn's friends gathered awkwardly around the dead body.

Introductions were made.

Then Cat dumped her bag beside the body and rubbed her hands together.

"You got a bath tub?" She asked, glancing at Lisa, who looked baffled and nodded.

"Upstairs." She answered.

"Okay. Well, you guys might wanna grab your showers and stuff now, because you won't want to later." She pulled a rolled up sheet of plastic and a bone saw from her rucksack and the four friends scrambled to escape the living room and race up the stairs.

Cat heaved a sigh and crouched beside the body, eyeing it up. She reached for the knife and wrenched it free.

"Today's gunna be a long day…" She muttered and set to work.


	9. Chapter 8

The city had always been alive with people, surging from dawn until dusk. And while late Sunday nights in the suburbs were normally relatively free of people traversing the darkened streets what with the work week about to start, it was decidedly unusual for there to be a total lack of life. No people wandering home, no cats slinking amongst the shadows. It was strangely silent too, barely even the distant whoosh of car tyres on the main roads. It was creepy. Like the city was abandoned and Buffy didn't like it one bit. It reminded her too much of apocalypses past, when people seemed to sense something bad was unfolding and fled, leaving behind an empty town. As far as she knew there were no scheduled apocalypses due any time soon. Though maybe she should check that with Giles in the morning…

It was past midnight and well into the early hours of Monday morning. The slayer was patrolling with Cat, currently in a residential area. Tall white-washed houses stood on one side of the street, a large park on the other hidden from view by trees and hedges and wooden fencing. Parked cars lined both sides of the street, coloured chrome blurred into varying shades of orange by the street lights overhead.

"It's the cops talking about escaped wild animals and melonhead stories coming back." Cat attempted to explain away the emptiness as the slayer mentioned, not for the first time, the eerie silence giving her a bad case of the wiggins.

Buffy did a double take.

"Melon _what_?"

"Melonheads." Cat repeated simply, looking sideways at Buffy and gesturing vaguely to her head. "It's a story…Nevermind. Ask Giles."

"Right…" Buffy said slowly, watching Cat a moment longer as the reaper turned her gaze ahead once more. They were patrolling together, though there was no need. They had seen just one vampire that night, and dusted her easily. Dawn was only a few hours off and the night had most definitely been unsuccessful. Though at least that meant the streets were fairly safe. Silver linings…

"You know, you didn't need to come out tonight." She said after a while. Cat flashed a mischievous grin her way.

"Worried I'll show you up?" She teased. Buffy raised one eyebrow.

"Yes, what with the hordes of undead throwing themselves at us." She replied drily. Cat shrugged.

"I know things have been slow lately. Vamps hiding normally means there's a new hunter on the scene, right?" She said, and Buffy nodded.

"Right."

"So maybe you could use an extra pair of eyes, and hands, while out. Just in case whatever's spooking the spooks shows up."

"That definitely makes sense." Buffy agreed, crossing the road to enter the large park opposite via a natural gateway between the tall hedges that bordered the area. Cat followed her, hazy eyes adjusting almost instantly to the gloom of the wide open area as they left the glow of the streetlights behind. Only a handful of the lights illuminating the pathways through the grass were turned on at this time of day and the trees enclosing the park had soon swallowed the light of the sleeping city.

A cold wind blew through the trees, rustling through the dying leaves and causing the branches to creak and sway. Buffy shivered in the resultant chill and stuffed her hands into her coat pockets as they wandered through the middle of the park, out onto the open field.

"It's getting cold." She remarked idly. Cat adopted a solemn look.

"Winter is coming." She said gruffly.

Buffy merely blinked at her and Cat sighed.

"Dawn would understand."

Buffy opened her mouth and took a breath to respond, but instead found herself choking as another gust of wind swept across the park towards them, this time bringing with it some vile smell. Cat swiftly clamped her mouth shut and pulled her black cotton scarf out of her jacket collar and up over her nose, looking like she was about to be sick.

"Oh sweet Jesus…" She mumbled.

"Smells like something _died_." Buffy wrinkled her nose in disgust. She felt a tingling at the base of her skull and stopped walking, recognising her slayer senses throwing out a warning. A second later Cat had halted beside her and summoned her sword, evidently feeling the same thing.

They had almost fully crossed the park, and stood near a line of tall trees illuminated by one of the pathway lights glowing bright white a few meters away. It made them blind to the shadows within the bushes marking the fence across the path. Cat had narrowed her grey eyes and was peering intently in that direction, reaching out, Buffy suspected, with her reaper senses to locate the danger.

A leaf drifted by Buffy's face from above and she snapped her head back, staring upwards. Her heartrate skyrocketed as she came face to face with luminous silver eyes and a mouthful of razor sharp fangs just a few meters away.

She jumped up and slammed both feet into Cat's lower back, sending them both sprawling in opposite directions as some hideous…demon thing dropped out of the tree right into the spot they had just vacated. It landed on all fours as they leaped instantly to their feet, and hissed a warning at Cat as she drew her sword with the whisper of steel on wood.

It was an emaciated thing, all grubby grey skin and bones threatening to burst free. Veins and tendons bulged like steel cords. Long stringy black hair framed angry eyes that burned silver in the darkness. It stood hunched on strangely elongated wiry legs, it's limbs spiderlike and deceptively frail-looking. While it was vaguely humanoid in shape there was no mistaking it for the Hellish creature it was. This was definitely the thing Buffy had glimpsed briefly a few nights previous.

Cat coughed loudly, drawing the demon's attention once again.

"Mate, you stink." She informed him, pressing her scarf back over her nose. "What is that? Eau de corpse?" The demon roared and pounced at her with a frightening speed. Bony palms slapped into Cat's shoulders and bowled her backwards. Unable to dodge, she tried to roll backwards with the beast to gain the upper hand, but was instead pinned to the ground, having been caught off guard and not anticipating the immense strength of her enemy. She had kept her grasp on the sword and saya but hadn't the leverage to attack.

Buffy sprang into action, dashing forward with the intention of planting her boot in the side of the demon's face. Instead, in a blur of motion, the demon twisted to face her, seized her leg mid-kick and threw her easily into the trunk of the tree it had jumped out of a moment ago. Her head struck bark and stars exploded behind her eyelids. She gave an 'oof' as she hit the ground and the air was driven from her lungs.

In the distraction, and before the demon could get back to pinning Cat, the reaper dealt a stunning right hook to the demon's jaw that sent him spinning sideways, leaving her free to climb to her feet. He recovered fast and regained his balance. Cat was waiting, sword in hand, and lunged forwards, driving the sword point through his heart with all of her weight behind it. This brought her uncomfortably close to his face and those rotten fangs. She stared up at him, waiting for the light to die in his eyes. Instead the demon stared angrily down at her.

"Uh…" Cat looked from the sword buried up to the hilt in his chest, to the furious burning eyes above her. The demon grabbed her by the throat and lifted her with one hand, a growl rumbling in its throat as cracked and blackened lips pulled back from stained brown fangs in a snarl. Cat's fingers scrabbled over the wiry wrist, clawing at grey skin marked by faded black ink. An old tattoo, her oxygen starved brain informed her. A strange thing for a demon to have. Spots danced before her eyes as her vision blurred and began to darken at the edges, her heart hammered erratically against her ribs. She brought up her dangling legs and pressed the balls of her feet against the demon's narrow chest, summoning all of her magic into her hands. Finally she let go of the creature's arm and thrust her palms forwards, hurling a blast of energy into the demon's face that forced him to stagger backwards while propelling her in the opposite direction. Her shoulders slammed into the ground and she rolled backwards and crashed into Buffy, who had just climbed to her feet. The slayer stumbled and grabbed at the tree trunk behind her to steady herself.

"Why is he not dead?" Cat asked nervously, allowing herself to be hauled back up onto her feet.

"I don't know." Buffy replied, still looking dazed from her collision with the tree. As they watched, the demon grasped the handle of Cat's sword with both hands and tugged it free of his chest. The blade emerged with a coating of frost. The tip slid free of his heart with a small puff of ice crystals. The wound sealed almost immediately.

"Plan?" Cat asked as the demon turned his gaze back to them.

"Run." Buffy announced and turned and sprinted for the boundary hedges.

"Agreed." Cat dashed after her.

Slayer and reaper leaped the fence and landed running on the other side down a street almost identical to the one on the opposite side of the park. They heard the demon racing along after them, gaining ground despite their supernatural speed.

Cat dropped into a crouch as she sensed an incoming attack from behind, and the demon sailed overhead, claws outstretched. Buffy skidded to a halt beside her, instantly adopting a fighting stance.

"Houston, we have a problem…." Cat said without taking her eyes from the snarling monster crouched just a few meters from them. It launched itself forwards, arms outstretched, eager to bury its claws in Cat's chest. She threw herself sideways as the demon landed, summoning her sword back to her. It swiped at Buffy, who pivoted on one foot to dodge, then whirled back and drove her knee up into the underside of its jaw during the downward arc of its attack. Its head snapped back, stunning it long enough for her to follow up with a devastating roundhouse that spun the demon round to face Cat and her trusty blade. Cat swung her sword in a horizontal slash, ready to take the demon's head off at the shoulders, but the demon recovered fast and whipped out a hand at the blade, halting it in its tracks as its fingers closed around cold steel. Cat gaped at the demon.

"What the Hell is wrong with you?!" She demanded. In response the demon tore her weapon out of her grasp and raked the claws of its free hand across her stomach. Cat yelped at the fiery burn of triple sharp slashes opening across her gut and leaped backwards to avoid the follow up swipe that was sure to disembowel her. The demon rose to its full height then and managed to take one single step towards the reaper before Buffy slammed into him from the side with a flying kick that sent him soaring across the road and into the front garden of one of the houses. He crashed onto the perfectly manicured front lawn and rolled several times. The movement triggered a security light that filled the street with a blinding white light. The demon glanced back and immediately recoiled with a shriek, covering its face with its hands. It took off down the street without a backwards glance at the slayer and the reaper, leaping parked cars in single bounds. It rounded the corner and disappeared into the night.

"Ooookay…" Buffy commented.

"Who the Hell has a light like that?!" Cat demanded, squinting in the sudden brightness. "It's like a collapsed sun!"

Buffy leaned back against a street light to catch her breath, grinning at her friend's indignant raving. She knew they should be chasing the demon. Knew they would never catch him.

"I take it you're okay, then?" She asked. Cat turned back to the slayer, confused a moment, then looked down at her bleeding midriff and shrugged.

"'S just a flesh wound." She said, then looked back up at Buffy, yet again indignant. "Unlike what I gave him! I stabbed him." She cried, gesturing wildly. "Clean through the heart!"

"Maybe his heart's in a different place." Buffy said, pushing off from the lamp post and heading off in the direction of home.

"I don't care! You don't just carry on after you've been stabbed. It's not natural."

"He does." Buffy replied. "But he's clearly not natural."

"And who the hell has a chest full of ice anyway?!"

"Definitely one for Giles."

* * *

Buffy carefully slid her front door key into the lock and slowly turned it until she felt the lock give. She pushed open the door while keeping one hand on the edge to stop it swinging back and banging into the wall. Willow, Tara and Dawn would be fast asleep and she didn't want to wake them. She crept over the fresh hold and turned to Cat, needlessly pressing a finger to her lips. Cat rolled her eyes and stepped inside. She held her scarf bunched up against her stomach, wary of spilling blood on the floor.

"First aid kit's upstairs in the bathroom." Buffy whispered while closing the door softly. "I'll find you something to wear while you clean up."

"Thanks." Cat muttered, one handedly unlacing her boots and taking them off. She heard Buffy creep up the stairs, socks rustling softly against the carpet. She didn't turn on any of the lights in the house.

Cat left her boots beside Buffy's shoes, shrugged off her leather jacket and hung it up on the coat rack by the door, then made her way further into the dark house. Orange light crept around the edges of the blinds at the front windows from the street outside and penetrated the gloom as far as the bottom three stairs. She could see the outlines of the furniture in the living room, the glowing green numbers on the DVD player beneath the TV telling her the sun would be rising soon and she should get some sleep for her graveyard shift at the hospital that night. She could hear the humming of the fridge in the kitchen, the creak of bedsprings from upstairs as someone rolled over in their sleep. Buffy was moving around upstairs in stealth mode, conscious of waking her friends and family.

Cat put her foot down on the bottom step and started up the stairs. It creaked loudly beneath her weight and she froze.

"Bugger…" She hissed, pausing to make sure she hadn't woken anyone up. Hearing no movement from above she dashed up the stairs on light feet, thankfully without any more incidents, and made her way into the bathroom. She closed the door behind herself and pulled on the cord by the door to turn on the light. Her eyes adjusted swiftly, and she crossed the room to the mirrored medicine cabinet above the sink. She opened the door quietly, and took down the plastic green first aid box from the bottom shelf (the most used item in the cabinet), setting it on the back of the sink to use in a moment. She closed the cabinet door softly, then chucked her bloody scarf and ruined T-shirt into the bath tub. Red splattered the white tub, but it would be easy to clean. Looking down at her stomach she saw three deep gashes still oozing blood. The wounds were already healing, she knew, and would be nothing but pale scars by the end of the week due to some handy supernatural accelerated healing. She washed her hands with soap and set about cleaning up the cuts and dressing them.

She had just stuck a gauze pad over the wounds when Buffy knocked quietly on the door. Cat opened it and took the T-shirt she was offered. An oversized Snoopy one. She twitched an eyebrow and looked up at Buffy.

"What? It's comfy for sleeping in." Buffy insisted in a whisper.

"Didn't know I was staying." Cat said, pulling on the T-shirt. The sleeves came to her elbows and the hem hung almost to her knees.

"No point in going home now." Buffy said, coming in to pick up Cat's ruined clothes from the bath. "Besides, I want to fill in Giles in the morning. He'll want to speak with you too, probably. What do you want me to do with these?" She lifted up the clothes and Cat heaved a sigh.

"Might as well chuck 'em." She said. "How's your head, by the way?"

Buffy reached back and gingerly touched the sizeable lump at the back of her skull from where her head had hit the tree. She pulled a face.

"I think I grew a dinosaur egg." She grumbled.

"Cool, if it hatches maybe it can eat the stupid demon thing."

Buffy raised her eyebrows slowly at Cat who grinned sheepishly.

"I think maybe I should get some sleep…" She said apologetically.

"Sofa okay?" Buffy asked with a smile, and Cat nodded.

"Sofa good." She said. "Thanks."

"Go down and I'll bring you some blankets and pillows."

Cat left the bathroom like a ninja as Buffy bundled up the bloody clothes and turned out the light. She made her way into her bedroom and grabbed one of her pillows and the blanket folded at the foot of her bed. Spares were kept in Willow and Tara's room and she didn't want to barrel in there and risk waking them up. So she would just have to suffer cold feet for what remained of the night.

She carried the blanket and pillow downstairs to the living room where Cat was perched on the edge of the sofa waiting for her bedding with a glass of water in one hand. She stood as Buffy approached, putting her glass on the coffee table and reaching for the pillow and blanket with a smile.

"Cheers." She tossed the pillow down at one end of the sofa and shook out the blanket. Buffy nodded.

"Sleep well. I'm going to call Giles later, tell him to come over early so we can talk."

Cat lay down on the sofa, spreading the blanket over herself.

"I'll probably go after that. I want a proper sleep before work. And a shower. And, like, a full hog roast or something."

"If you're hungry you can grab something." Buffy jerked a thumb over one shoulder.

"I'll wait until breakfast." Cat said.

"Okay. Thanks for tonight."

"Any time." Cat smirked at her. "I don't mind being gutted for you guys."

"Try not to do it again." Buffy couldn't help a smile at the mischievous look on Cat's face. "Anyway. Good night."

"Night."

Buffy turned and made her way for the back door to put Cat's ruined clothes in the bin.

"What's this? No goodnight kiss?!"

The slayer rolled her eyes and continued out the door, shaking her head in despair. She dumped Cat's clothes in the bin, then headed back inside, locking the door after herself. She returned to the bathroom upstairs and cleaned blood from the tub to save potential awkward questions in the morning, then went into her own room and flopped down onto the bed fully clothed.

* * *

Buffy awoke with a pounding headache after grabbing just a couple of hours' sleep. She groaned and buried her face further into her pillow, but knew she couldn't drift off again. She needed to call Giles for a Scooby meeting. She heaved a sigh and pulled herself upright into a sitting position, rubbing sleep from her eyes with one hand as she groped blindly for the mobile phone on her bedside cabinet with the other. She then remembered that she hadn't changed for bed before going to sleep and that her phone was still in her trouser pocket. She sighed and pulled it out, thumbed the power button and cracked one eye open to squint at the seemingly blindingly bright phone screen. She scrolled her contacts list for Giles' home number and hit dial, then held the phone to her ear. While waiting for Giles to answer she tentatively probed the back of her head for the lump left by her collision with the tree, wincing as her fingers found the knot. The swelling seemed to have gone down a little, but it still hurt like Hell.

"Stupid demon." She grumbled.

"Hello?" Giles answered the phone and Buffy was glad to hear a little early morning gravel in his voice. Even Giles was unable to wake up chipper.

"Giles, hi!" She answered, clearing her throat and sitting up straighter in an attempt to pretend she was more awake than she actually felt.

"Buffy?" He already sounded worried. "Is everything all right?" He knew she had been patrolling and obviously feared the worst.

"Dandy." Buffy said, removing her fingers from her scalp. The lump continued to throb. "Any chance you could come over early? I'd like to fill you in on a new demon friend I made last night."

"Of course. I'll be over as soon as I can."

Buffy heard a rustling noise over the phone and smirked.

"Still in bed at this hour?" She teased.

"I know you've only just woken up." Giles replied and Buffy cracked a grin.

"See you in a bit." She said and they hung up. She paused a moment to gather her thoughts, then tossed her phone onto her bedside table and crawled out of bed. She stretched her arms above her head and arched her back to work out some of the stiffness, then trudged out of her bedroom to the bathroom in the hope that a shower might impart some energy. Slayer or no, two hours sleep was not enough to function properly on.

* * *

When the doorbell rang half an hour later Buffy was dried and dressed and just heading down the stairs intent on grabbing a caffeine fix. Cat reached the door before her and opened it. Giles blinked in surprise, having not expected to see her.

"Oh, hello, Cat…What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I got a boo-boo." She told him by way of explanation. Giles paused, clearly not knowing what to say. By this time, Buffy had appeared behind her guest.

"She was patrolling with me last night." She told him, as Cat stepped aside for Giles to come in. He wiped his feet on the door mat before entering.

"Where you met this new demon?" He asked. Cat closed the door behind him and stood back with her arms folded over her chest.

"Yeah, and he's a right bugger." He said with a scowl.

"Giles, you're here early!"

The trio turned to see Willow and Tara stood at the bottom of the stairs still in pyjamas. Willow hastily tied up the belt of her dressing gown, feeling underdressed in front of visitors.

"And Cat." She added, looking confused.

"Is there a party you forgot to tell us about?" Tara asked Buffy with a playful grin, smoothing down Willow's wild bed hair with both hands.

"Scoobies assemble!" Cat said, bounding into the living room with a lot more energy than the others had. She stopped by the sofa and turned to look back at the others with a frown on her face. "Can I say that if I'm not really a Scooby?"

"You're a Scooby." Willow told her. "The Scoobiest Scoob and I'm gonna go make some coffee…" The redhead did an about turn and headed for the kitchen to get a pot of strong coffee brewing.

"Good idea." Buffy said, sitting down on the sofa beside Cat, who always seemed to get excited about these meetings.

"I'm sensing a story." Tara said, settling on the floor at one end of the coffee table so she would be within easy reach of the morning mug of fuel.

"Only a little one." Cat said, holding up one hand with her forefinger and thumb indicating a small distance.

Willow returned then with a tray on which was clustered five steaming mismatched mugs of coffee and a plate of toast for Tara and herself. She put down the tray on the table and sat on the floor beside Tara, picking up a slice of toast and a mug of coffee and looking expectantly up at Buffy as she nibbled at strawberry jam.

"What happened last night?" Giles asked, leaning forwards and choosing a mug. He looked down at the coffee as he sat back with the drink. Tea would have been preferred, but he wasn't one to decline an offered drink when he was a guest and so he had a sip of the bitter liquid.

Buffy and Cat exchanged a look. Cat gestured to the blonde, allowing her to take the narrative lead, and so Buffy explained all that had unfolded that night out on patrol, with Cat chipping in occasionally. They described the demon, and Cat went into great detail over the way she had clearly dealt a mortal wound that hadn't fussed the creature. Buffy added that he had fled when the light came on.

"Well," Giles said as they finished, "That doesn't sound like any demon I've ever heard of."

Willow and Tara shook their heads, looking nonplussed.

"We can look in the books later. That's a lot of information you got us." Tara said, licking jam from the ball of her thumb.

"And we have a good description to go off." Willow added. "That should help narrow it down."

"Sure." Buffy said. "How many tall, starving demons that want to kill people could there be?"

"Do you think it's the thing that's been going round chomping on people?" Cat asked.

"I'd say chances are quite high that he's the culprit." Giles nodded.

Cat flashed a grin.

"Scooby research mode activated."


	10. Chapter 9

Xander stood in front of his bathroom mirror checking his appearance one last time. He was due to meet Mona at the bar where they had originally bumped into each other a few weeks ago in twenty minutes, and wanted her to notice he had made the effort to look good. He had showered and shaved and doused himself in deodorant and aftershave, brushed his teeth and smoothed his hair down with wax. He wore a plain navy shirt over tan chinos and had opted for his smart shoes rather than scuffed boots or old trainers. Satisfied with his choices he turned on his heel and left the bathroom, crossed the small living space of his apartment to the door and grabbed his 'smart' coat from the single hook nailed into the wall beside it. He pulled it on, checked he had wallet, keys, and phone, and finally left the apartment, locking up behind himself.

He made his way outside with a spring in his step, spinning the door keys once around one finger before slipping them into his trouser pocket. The bar was just a short walk from his home, and he made it well in time, arriving before Mona. As he pushed open the door he was greeted by a wave of warmth from the over door heater. The bar was emptier than usual and so the normal hubbub of voices was muted somewhat. Music played from speakers on high shelves above the bar, mixed in with the chinking of bottles and glasses and the crack of pool balls striking each other. Xander made his way to the bar and ordered himself a pint of beer, paid, and carried it over to a small square table for two in the far corner, in view of the door so that he would see Mona when she entered. Two men were playing at the beat up old pool table in the opposite corner, and he entertained himself by watching the game as he waited for Mona. He didn't have long to wait. Dead on time, the door opened and Mona swept into the bar with a grin, dark eyes locating him immediately. He smiled and waved as she strode over, tall biker boots clomping loudly on the wooden floor of the bar. Despite the cold outside she wore just a knee-length knitted cardigan over black T-shirt and faded black jeans, with a grey messenger bag swinging from one shoulder. Her long black hair was loose about her shoulders.

"Early again, huh?" She teased him, dumping her bag on the floor beside the chair opposite him. It hit the floor with a loud 'whump'. Xander half rose as she took her seat, then dropped back into his chair with an awkward smile. Turning up early wasn't especially cool…

"I didn't want to turn up late." He said. "You might think I've stood you up."

"Oh, no one stands me up." She grinned at him arrogantly. "I'd track him down and…well…Less said the better." Xander paused and licked his lips awkwardly, not sure what to say to that as she looked so serious. Mona laughed and reached across the table to slap his upper arm playfully. "Don't look so worried!"

"Sure thing." He said, chuckling and rubbing his arm as it stung. Apparently Mona didn't know her own strength. "Anyway, what can I get you?"

"Um…Gimme a beer." She said. Xander eyed up the bar, with the row of beer pumps and the glass bottles of beer stacked in fridges.

"Any particular beer…?"

"I'll have what you're having."

"Okay." He said, a little surprised that delicate little Mona wanted a pint. She looked more like a vodka-and-coke kind of girl. He stood up and made his way to the bar, pulling his wallet from the back pocket of his trousers. As he waited at the bar he felt the fine hairs at the back of his neck prickle and rise. He rubbed one hand over them and half turned to find Mona staring after him hungrily. He gave a nervous smile and quickly turned back to the bar man as two pints were placed in front of him on the sticky wooden surface of the bar, feeling more than a little uncomfortable. He had the distinct feeling that Mona had plans for him. He paid for the drinks, then returned his wallet to his back pocket and picked up the drinks to carry them over to the table.

"It's quiet here tonight." Mona remarked as he returned. He set down the glasses on the beer mats provided and sat down in his chair, nodding and casting an eye about the handful of patrons present.

"Yeah, well, the news keeps throwing out stories about wild animals mauling people and things." He said, picking up his first beer to finish it. "I guess people figure they're safer at home."

Mona snorted.

"No one's safe." She said. Xander frowned slightly at her.

"How'd you figure that one out?" He asked.

"Oh, we can lock our doors and set our alarms, but that never stops the bad guys getting in, does it?" She replied. Xander thought about that. Sure, a skilled thief could still get in and cause havoc, but at least people would be safe from rampaging wild beasts. And vampires couldn't enter without an invite.

"Well, we're safe enough." He answered finally. Mona grinned playfully at him.

"Optimist."

* * *

They stayed in the bar until closing time, alternating buying rounds of drinks. As they stepped out from the warmth of the bar and onto the cold street, Xander shivered despite the comfortable fuzziness the beers had caused and stuffed his hands into his coat pockets.

"It's pretty cold out here." Mona announced needlessly. She didn't seem fussed by the temperature though. "Wanna head back to mine?"

Xander blinked at her.

"Ah…" No. Yes. No. Maybe? Where would that lead? And did he want it to lead anywhere?

Mona laughed at his worried expression.

"Relax! I don't bite!" She told him. Xander gave a goofy grin and shrugged.

"Sorry. Sure. I don't have work tomorrow."

"I'd say lucky you, but I'm not working 'til late anyway." She said with a look of mischief in those dark eyes. He felt naked whenever she looked at him. And not in a good way. She stripped away the layers to flesh and blood. It was a predatory leer. He gulped as she started off down the street with a smirk on her dark lips. What had he gotten himself into this time…?

He strode quickly to catch up with her. At least if things got too hot and heavy he could pretend he needed the bathroom and escape through the window. If she had a bathroom window.

 _Oh boy…_

"It's a short walk." Mona informed him, oblivious to his inner turmoil. How to make an escape plan without knowing the layout of her home? Maybe he could text someone to send him a fake family emergency phone call…

"You must live close to me, then." Xander said as her comment finally broke through his pondering. "I live nearby, too."

"Small world." She commented.

* * *

Mona lived in a small house just fifteen minutes away from Xander's home. The front garden had been paved over to form a driveway, on which a flash midnight blue sports car sat. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I had no idea the blood bank paid so well." He said, admiring the car.

"Oh, well, you know," she said vaguely, approaching the front door while fishing in her bag for the house keys. "I work a lot."

"You don't say…" He murmured, peering in through the tinted windshield to check out the leather interior.

He heard the door open behind him and straightened, turning to face Mona. She stood in the doorway looking thoroughly amused.

"More interested in the car, huh?"

Xander started.

"What? No!" He insisted. "It's just…it looks funky!" He hurried to the door as she disappeared inside, laughing. He would have to get used to this teasing…

The hallway was dark, and he fumbled for a light switch as he closed the door behind himself. Mona was nowhere to be seen.

He found the switch, and the light overhead flickered on, illuminating a narrow hallway of bare walls painted cream and a polished wooden floor. There was a vintage coat stand at the foot of the stairs with a few coats and scarves hanging from it. He added his jacket to Mona's collection and was about to take off his shoes when a light came on in the room at the end of the hall and Mona's head popped round the doorframe.

"C'mon. I'm making coffee." She told him.

Xander kicked off his shoes and hurried down the hall, skidding once in his socks. He righted himself and strode into the kitchen, thumbs hooked casually into his belt loops. The kitchen was slick black marble surfaces, polished chrome utensils and oak cupboards. The floor was tiled. There was a large window over the sink, the Roman blind pulled down, and in one corner was a door, open a crack. Beyond was pitch black, but he thought he could see a wooden bannister. Basement, he guessed.

"Wow, your home is way better than mine." He said appreciatively.

Mona stood at the counter with her back to him as she spooned coffee into two mugs.

"Thanks. I've worked hard for it." She said, pouring boiling water into the mugs, and stirring in milk. "Coffee." She turned and held out a mug to him, which he took, thanking her. As he went to take a sip he became aware of a strange odour that only grew stronger as the seconds passed. He frowned and sniffed. It smelled like…was that…?

"Can you smell sulphur?" He asked in confusion. He could hear a light tapping from behind him, like…claws on wood. He glanced over his shoulder, but saw nothing.

"Oh, it's just my Hellhound." Mona replied casually, and sipped at her coffee.

"I'm sorry, _what_?!" Xander asked, whipping back round to face her, and immediately leaping backwards as he came face to face with a vampire.

"Surprise!" She grinned at him. Xander chucked his coffee-mug and all-at her head as he heard a loud growling behind him, and ran across the kitchen. He heard the mug shatter on tile as he reached the door he had seen on first entering the kitchen. Currently the safest place, though he hoped it wasn't just a broom cupboard. He barrelled inside and slammed the door behind himself just as something on the other side charged into it. From the growling and scrabbling he presumed it must be the hellhound. Xander pressed his shoulders back into the door, forcing it to stay closed as he looked around the frame for a lock, but found none. It must lock from the other side.

He stood at the top of a wooden staircase that descended straight down into darkness. The only illumination came from the kitchen light seeping around the edge of the door. From beyond the door, within the kitchen, he heard Mona laughing. The door shuddered as the hellhound threw itself into the wood once more.

"Ohgodohgodohgod…" Xander mumbled, bracing himself at the top of the stairs and fishing in his trouser pocket for his phone. He needed help, big time.

* * *

Buffy sat on the edge of Giles' sofa flicking through the dusty pages of some huge ancient tome on demons he had open on the coffee table, waiting for him to return with mugs of tea from the kitchen. Research mode had been well and truly activated, but currently they had no leads on the demon she and Cat had come across the previous night.

She jumped as her phone suddenly buzzed in her trouser pocket, vibrating against her hip, and nearly upset Giles' stack of books. She pulled her phone out and frowned at the display as she saw Xander's name highlighted.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Buffy! Thank God you answered!" Xander's voice was high strung, and in the background she heard thudding and scraping and…barking…?

"Xander, what the Hell are you doing?" She demanded. Wasn't he supposed to be on a date…? "Are you okay?"

"No! Mona's a vampire!" He cried.

Buffy snorted.

"Okay, sure…" She said.

"I'm not lieing!" There was a loud crash and Xander yelped. Buffy instantly stopped smiling.

"Don't you have a stake or a cross or something?" She asked, standing up.

"I was going on a date, Buffy!" He snapped. "I wasn't expecting to need anti-vamp supplies! And she has a hellhound!"

"Okay, where are you?" Buffy asked, hunting around the shelves and other surfaces of Giles' home for car keys.

"In the basement."

"In the basement _where_?" She asked.

"Uh…" Xander paused, and then hurriedly gave her the address. Buffy committed it to memory.

"Stay in the basement, find a weapon, I'll be ten minutes. And whatever you do, don't look into the hellhound's eyes."

"Oh, sure, I-" Buffy heard another loud crash and a shout from Xander, followed by a series of thuds.

"Xander…?" She asked but he didn't answer. Instead she heard the sounds of shouting and scuffling. Cold hard ice settled in the pit of her stomach and her heart began to race, thudding against her ribs painfully. If she couldn't get there in time… If something had already happened…

She hurried out into the hallway and spied Giles' car keys on the telephone table. She scooped them up and pocketed her phone.

"Xander's in trouble, taking the car, gotta go, bye!" She yelled over her shoulder while running to the front door and wrenching it open. It slammed shut behind her as she sprinted to Giles' car. In seconds the tyres were squealing as she pulled away from the curb and blasted away at top speed down the road.

* * *

Xander swore as he stood at the top of the stairs looking down at his phone glowing in the gloom at the bottom. The hellhound had rammed the door with such force he had lost his grip on his phone and almost tumbled down the stairs after it. He now stood with his back to the door, arms and legs braced against the cold plaster walls. Find a weapon, Buffy had told him. Easier said than done. He couldn't lock the door and so he couldn't leave it to investigate the contents of the basement for a weapon. And anyway, how could he fight the hellhound if he couldn't risk eye contact with it?

In the kitchen Mona seemed to be having the time of her un-life watching her damned pet attack the door. He could hear her egging it on, laughing as it threw itself repeatedly at the door. He heard the hinges rattling loose with each strike, and suspected he didn't have long before the wood turned to splinters. He hoped Buffy arrived long before that… Though he suspected he would give before the door. His shoulders were already bruised and battered, and his arms and legs ached with the strain of keeping the hellhound from entering.

The stupid dog threw itself once more with tremendous force at the door. Xander skinned his elbows on the rough plaster walls as he jerked forwards and almost fell headfirst down the stairs once again. Before he could get his shoulders back against the door the hellhound had shoved it open enough to get one heavy black paw in and clawed at the back of his legs. Xander pulled his feet away and twisted round to push his palms against the door, kicking at the paw and shoving until the hound yelped in pain and withdrew its crushed paw and the door slammed shut.

"You're a naughty boy, Xander." Mona taunted. Xander grit his teeth and scowled down the stairs as he threw his shoulders back against the door. Trust him to be dating a damn vampire. How the Hell had he not noticed that? From now on, Buffy had to meet whoever he wanted to date and give the go ahead before he went anywhere with them. She could identify nasties by sight.

With that thought, he heard a loud crash from within the house somewhere, and sounds of confusion from Mona.

Buffy…

* * *

Buffy had kicked the front door in with a well placed boot to the lock and marched inside wielding a loaded crossbow (found in the back of Giles' car). She saw the vampire stood in the doorway of the kitchen with her hellhound snarling at her feet. Buffy carefully kept her eyes on the vampire, knowing full well the fatal legends of looking into the fiery eyes of a hellhound. From the glances she stole of it, she could see the hellhound was basically a huge fully black Doberman with glowing red eyes. It had a mouthful of fangs too big for its jaws. It looked heavy and muscular, deadly. Powerful and fast.

"Mind if I interrupt?" Buffy asked nonchalantly. "Oh, wait, I don't care." The hellhound gave a loud, deep bark and barrelled forwards. Buffy only had time to leap over it, let alone level the crossbow at the beast. It shot beneath her feet, and as she landed she heard it skidding down the hallway behind her.

"Who the Hell are you?!" Mona demanded angrily.

"That's Buffy." Xander answered, and slammed a metal baseball bat into the side of his date's head, knocking her sideways. "The vampire slayer." Buffy grinned at her friend and tossed him the wooden stake she had hidden up the sleeve of her jacket. Xander caught it in one hand and dropped the baseball bat he had found in the basement. It clanged loudly on the tiled floor of the kitchen.

Mona sat up, blinking her yellow eyes to focus them just as Xander lunged forwards with the stake aimed at her heart. She grabbed his forearm with one hand and stepped inside his guard, shoving him backwards into the cooker and sending pots and pans clattering to the floor. She seized him by the throat with her free hand, dropped his arm to grab a painful fistful of hair.

"Thanks for tonight, Xander." Mona sneered, demonic face mere inches from his. "I had fun." She jerked back his head to bare his throat. His scalp felt like it was on fire. Mona's hard, cold body pinned him against the cooker, his arms trapped between them. There was nothing he could do.

He heard the twang of a crossbow string and the hellhound uttered a howl of pain.

"Buff, little help!" He choked, attempting to squirm free of the vampire's iron grip. Needle sharp fangs graze his neck above his throbbing arteries. He squeezed his eyes shut tight anticipating the searing pain of teeth burrowing into his jugular…Instead felt a puff of air and tasted ash. He opened one eye to see Buffy standing before him, looking incredibly smug.

"I could kiss you right now." He informed her breathlessly. Buffy grinned and patted his shoulder consolingly.

"Hey, at least you weren't the human sacrifice for a demonic ritual." She said, sliding her wooden stake back up her jacket sleeve.

"No, instead I was almost the late night snack of a vampire." He replied. Buffy smirked. "Please don't tell anyone about this…" He begged.

Buffy sighed.

"Fine, I won't tell anyone you were dating Mona the Vampire." She said. "But you owe me. Big time. Now, come on. I have to get Giles' car back before he freaks out." She turned and left the kitchen. Xander blinked before dashing after her.

"You stole Giles' car?!"


	11. Chapter 10

Foil packaging rustled loudly as Dawn tore open the third jumbo bag of tortilla chips and upended it into a plastic bowl, lined up on the work surface with the two other filled bowls. She couldn't remember which flavour was in which bowl, just that one was salted, one was ranch, and the orange ones were obviously cheese. She crumpled the now empty packet and stuffed it into the bin in the corner, then picked up two bowls, balanced the third in-between and carefully carried her snacks out of the kitchen and into the living room. Willow and Tara were sprawled across the sofa reading from old books with cracked leather spines and ancient, dry and yellowed vellum pages. The coffee table in front of the sofa had vanished beneath a disorganised mountain of books on demons and strange beasts from folklore, myth and legend and the various other snacks and bottles and cans of drink Dawn had acquired already. Tara raised an eyebrow as she watched the teen shift things around to make room for the tortilla chips.

"Wow…Thinking of pulling an all-nighter, Dawnie?" She asked playfully.

"Reminds me of college." Willow said with a grin, leaning forwards and scooping up some of the ranch/salted chips. "Studying through the night with nothing but junk food and energy drinks to sustain us."

"Forgetting everything the next morning because your brain cells are all sleep deprived…" Tara teased her, tickling the back of her girlfriend's neck.

"Not _everything_." Willow laughed, hunching her shoulders and wriggling away to escape the tickling hand. She had to admit all-nighters had never been as beneficial as she had first thought they would be. Her brain had defiantly spat back out the things crammed into it after the lack of sleep began to take its toll.

"Well, I wasn't thinking of staying up all night." Dawn said, sitting cross legged at the coffee table and selecting a small book from the top of the pile. She knew flicking through countless books in search of a scrap of information, or a black ink sketch, to identify Buffy's demon, would send her to sleep long before morning arrived.

"Just most of it?" Willow asked with a conspiratorial smirk.

"Buffy would kill me." Dawn rolled her eyes.

"Good point…" Willow wrinkled her nose. Buffy was still protective over her sister, despite Dawn nearing adulthood.

"Are you still hungry?" Tara asked, eyeing up the chips, cookies, popcorn and multitude of other foods scattered across half of the coffee table. "We only had dinner an hour ago…"

"I'm not hungry." Dawn assured her. "Just might be later."

The doorbell rang and the trio exchanged glances, wondering who it could be visiting so late. No one had mentioned dropping by, and Buffy wouldn't be back from patrol for hours yet. Tara put down her book and stood up, making her way to the door. She peered through the peep hole and grinned as she recognized their guest waiting on the front porch. She stepped back and opened the door.

"Hi, Xander."

"Hi, Tara!" Xander said brightly with a broad grin. In his hands was a white rectangular box, which he lifted to show her. "I come bearing doughnuts!" He announced as he entered.

"That's um…Not really necessary…" She said with a sloped smile. She closed the door while Xander kicked off his shoes and hung up his jacket.

"No?" He asked.

"Dawn's brought a _lot_ of food." She said, leading the way into the living room.

"And what Scooby research session isn't complete without copious amounts of sugar?" Xander asked, smiling at his friends as he neared the coffee table. "Evening ladies. Wow, Tara wasn't kidding!" He sat on the floor next to Dawn while Tara reclaimed her place beside Willow.

"There's plenty of room up here, y'know?" Willow said from the sofa, scooting up.

"Yes, but the food's down here…" Xander replied, diving into the tortilla chips while Dawn rummaged in the doughnut box and sat back with a classic sugar glazed ring.

"Don't get food on the books." Tara warned without looking up from her book. "You know how Giles feels about that…"

"Yes, mistress." Xander replied.

"What brings you here, anyway?" Willow asked her friend. "Wouldn't you rather be out there entertaining your pretty new lady than helping us research skanky old demons?" Her tone was playful, but still Xander shifted uncomfortably. They didn't know about the disastrous end to his last date. As far as they knew, things were going smoothly between him and Mona. The vampire. Or, more correctly, the pile of ash.

Both Dawn and Tara were looking at him too, waiting for his comment.

"Well. No…" He said awkwardly. "Things didn't work out so…This is now my social life." He gestured to the three of them and their oversized reading pile. "Again. Not that there's anything wrong with that."

Tara looked sympathetic.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Um…" Xander faltered. He hadn't prepared an excuse, and hastily scrounged around inside his brain for one.

"I bet she was a demon." Dawn sniggered, well aware of Xander's past dates. He scowled at her.

"No." He said stiffly. "I just…It didn't work out." He repeated.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Xander." Tara told him kindly.

"Me too." Dawn added, in case her teasing had insulted him.

"You'll find someone." Willow said with an encouraging smile. Xander returned the smile and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't need to." He replied. "I'm happy right here as I am."

"Aw, we love you too!" Dawn told him, bumping his shoulder with her own. She licked sugar from her fingers as she finished off her doughnut

"I think that's enough sugar for you…" Willow told her. Xander chuckled and picked up a jam doughnut. The group lapsed into silence as their concentration returned to the books they were perusing. It was slow going as a lot of demons seemed partial to human flesh, or mindless killing.

"You know…" Dawn said after a moment. "No one's been killed since that girl you found last week." She looked at Xander, who pulled a face.

"Thanks for reminding me about that…" He muttered.

"Do you think the demon's moved on? Maybe Buffy and Cat scared it off." Dawn continued thoughtfully as though he hadn't replied. "Or it has a feeding pattern?"

"No one's been _found_ since last week." Willow amended.

"Cheery…" Xander said.

"That's an interesting idea though." Tara told Dawn, wondering now, about feeding patterns.

"Uhoh…" Xander sounded nervous, looking down at the book in his lap.

"What?" Willow asked him.

"Got food on the book…"

* * *

Willow had offered to patrol with Buffy that night, worried about the prowling demon they had yet to identify. Buffy had said no, she could handle things alone. Not that Willow wasn't capable, it was just having someone along in case the demon turned up made it seem a lot more serious than Buffy wanted it to be. But now she was alone, past the witching hour with that supposedly unkillable demon out there, she wasn't so sure about being out alone. Company would be nice. Shadows seemed to shift, twisted by her imagination into that elongated, spindly-limbed creature with the burning eyes. Leaves buffeted along the ground by the wind behind her became soft whispering footsteps stalking her through the night. Mystery monsters always had her nerves on edge. Especially when she had no clue how to kill it. Though, when she next saw the beast she intended to part its head from its body. That ought to do the trick. Hopefully. She had brought her wakizashi along just in case. Short and slim, the Japanese short sword was easily concealed beneath her long coat. Nobody made a cutting edge like the Japanese. A flick of the wrist and the demon's head would be on the floor, as easily as slashing through butter.

She patrolled the suburbs that night, heading out of town towards one of the many cemeteries, alongside what would normally be a busy road, even at this time of night. She walked along a narrow pathway, cracked concrete bordered on one side by thick grass that desperately needed cutting and overgrown hedges on the other. Though she could easily have wandered along the middle of the road without incident. She hadn't seen or heard a car in the best part of an hour.

She flexed her fingers as she walked, digits stiffened by the cold, wishing she had thought to bring gloves. Her breath rose in a plume of fog before her face, dissipating gradually in the still night air. There were no clouds in the sky above, and the stars and moon shone brightly for all to see. Further up the road she could see the wide tarmacked driveway leading in and out of the cemetery. Though it was hidden by the protruding foliage of the last bush concealing the cemetery from view of the road, she knew the wrought iron gates would be locked. Not a problem for either the slayer or the undead. The gates could be easily scaled. But as she approached the driveway, she noticed the gates blocking access to the cemetery were ajar. On the ground before the gates was a pile of bright silver chains and a padlock. She crouched down to inspect the pile in the flickering orange glow of the streetlights, careful not to touch anything. Any damage or theft within the cemetery, or (more likely) freshly mutilated corpses, and the police would be crawling all over the place in the morning, dusting for fingerprints. She didn't want to have to explain that one…

Leaning down she could see the thick metal loop of the padlock had been cut. The edges looked smooth and sharp.

"Well, that's weird." She muttered, standing back up and eyeing the gates. She could hear nothing from within. No footsteps beyond.

The gap between the gates was just wide enough for Buffy to squeeze through without disturbing the hinges which were guaranteed to screech loudly and announce her arrival on the scene. Moving away from the light of the entrance, Buffy made her way further into the darkness of the cemetery, keen slayer senses reaching out and mapping the shadows that would otherwise have been near enough impenetrable. Headstones seemed to glow faintly in the moonlight and the raked gravel pathways between the neat rows appeared as faint shadows between deeper black. The only sound came from the soft gust of wind hissing through dead and dying leaves and grass, dry leaves rattling on tarmac and gravel. Buffy walked the road bisecting the cemetery, eyes searching for whoever or whatever had broken the lock at the gates. She saw nothing. The crypts and mausoleums were empty and still.

Buffy heaved a weary sigh as she reached the middle of the cemetery. Was there some kind of vampire all-you-can-eat buffet around somewhere that she didn't know about?

"And…we come to the conclusion of yet another pointless patrol." She muttered. In that moment her Spidey sense pinged and she whipped around to face the entrance gates. Seconds later she heard the pounding of feet, startled yelps and malicious laughter. She saw a disturbance amongst the foliage across the road, and finally a young woman burst free, hair tangled and face scratched from her fight with the bushes. Two burly men dashed out after her, brows ridged and eyes glowing yellow in the darkness. She tried to swerve down the road, towards town, but the vampires corralled her straight across towards the cemetery gates, laughing and jeering as three more vampires raced behind them.

"Okay, less pointless." Buffy said, pulling a wooden stake from the back of her waistband. Five vamps. Tough but doable.

The woman threw herself into the metal gates which squealed in protest as they opened inwards, and she barrelled forwards, eyes wide with fright. She stumbled through the gloom, not daring to look behind herself.

"Help me!" She cried desperately as she saw Buffy, running towards the slayer in a panic. Buffy stepped in front of the woman and spun the stake in her palm as the vampires raced after their prey. They could have caught up with her long before now. The chase had been a game to them, and that didn't sit well with the slayer. Not that catching and killing the woman before now would have sat well with her either.

The group of vampires slowed to a halt as they saw Buffy, their dinner cowering behind her.

"Well, would ya look at that, boys." Commented one. A big barrel chested guy with a buzz cut. Leader? Buffy wasn't sure. "Food's multiplied."

The vampires sniggered and fanned out menacingly. Buffy cracked a mirthless smile in response.

"Hi." She said. "I'm Buffy, and I'll be your slayer for this evening."

"Slayer?" Asked the weedy vampire nervously, backing away and glancing up at Buzz uncertainly.

"That's right. Now, who wants to die first?" Without waiting for an answer Buffy leaped forwards. The vampires scattered to escape the sudden rain of punches. Out of the corner of her eye, Buffy saw the woman fleeing the cemetery now that her attackers were more concerned with the sudden appearance of a slayer. Good. One less thing to worry about.

Buffy knew her odds of survival currently improved greatly with her ability to keep moving, and so she lashed out and sprang back, kicked and vaulted over heads. She kicked one vampire hard enough in the chest to crack ribs. As he flew backwards and slammed into a headstone she jumped back and made to stun the next vampire with a crack to the jaw, ready to plunge her stake into his chest. However, Buzz had other ideas and seized her from behind, pinning both arms to her sides. Buffy snapped her head back into his face and as his grip slackened in surprise she ducked down and pulled him over her shoulders. The weight of him almost brought her down too. Before she could stake him in his prone position the other vampires converged on her and she was forced to dart backwards and fend off several wild jabs and kicks. A tremor in the base of her spine and a tingling at the back of her head warned of danger approaching from behind and she felt her stomach tighten with the first notes of fear as she realized reinforcements were dashing towards her. Things were fast spiralling out of control.

She threw herself forwards, rugby tackling a vampire to the ground and springing instantly to her feet behind his comrades. She saw four more vampires racing across the cemetery towards her from hiding places at the back. From some creepy little crypt where they nested no doubt. She drew her sword and jumped back into the fray, slashing in the blink of an eye. As his head parted from his body the vampire burst into a cloud of ash. She ducked the grasping hands of Weedy and kicked his feet out from under him as the group of vampires spread out around her and paused the fight to suss out how best to charge a sword and stake-wielding slayer. Buffy was just contemplating how she could escape the cemetery when they rushed her. She held her own for a good few minutes, ducking and whirling and slashing, and managed to thin the ranks a little, but there were too many of them.

Buzz cracked an elbow against her temple and Buffy saw stars, felt cold undead hands seize her shoulders and throw her backwards. As she hit the ground she lost hold of her weapons. Nononono. No way was she going down because a few vamps got the upper hand. She flailed her limbs and shook her head to clear her vision, felt steely grips around her wrists and ankles. She grit her teeth and strained against the vampires holding her down, but it was six against one and she was on the ground. Four vampires had a limb each, one-a big biker guy-was using his weight against her chest to keep her down. Buzz loomed overhead, grinning at her as he seized her by the shoulders and dragged her up and backwards. She felt cold stone scraping her back and shoulders as the vampires pinned her atop a stone sarcophagus. Buzz's knuckles pressed down on her shoulders painfully. She bucked her hips as the biker vampire stepped backwards, trying wildly to free herself. There was no way this could be happening.

"Would you hurry up and bite her?!" Demanded one of the vampires. They were struggling to keep a hold of her as she wriggled and strained against their grasp.

"I'm savouring the moment." The biker snapped. Apparently he was the leader. "Ain't never had a Slayer before."

"Ain't having one now, either." There was the thrum of a bowstring and a thud. The biker staggered forwards and exploded into a cloud of ash, revealing a young woman behind him with a crossbow aimed at the ash cloud. Buffy strained her neck to stare at her saviour, and blinked in surprise.

"Hey, Buffy." Kennedy smirked. "Miss me?"


	12. Chapter 11

"Kennedy?!" Buffy cried in surprise. The vampires pinning her to the hard stone sarcophagus had frozen in shock and were gaping at the sudden appearance of a second slayer. The stone dug painfully into Buffy's shoulder blades and the cold seeped through her clothes and into her skin. "What are you doing here?!"

Kennedy just gave a cocky grin, pleased with the reactions she had caused. She spun a second crossbow bolt from the quiver strapped to her thigh and slapped it into place, re-loading her weapon.

"Who cares what she's doing here?!" The vampire with the buzz cut demanded, releasing his hold on Buffy's shoulders as Kennedy winched her bowstring into place. "Kill her!"

Once the hands pinning her down loosened their grip Buffy kicked out at the two nearest vampires, planting her feet square in their faces and sending them crashing backwards, as two others lunged at Kennedy. Buzz drove his elbow downwards in a bone crushing arc aimed at Buffy's sternum. Like lightning she rolled away and dropped to her feet as she reached the edge of the sarcophagus, diving towards her discarded sword.

Kennedy had spun away from her attackers to finish loading her crossbow. She then whipped back round to swipe the feet out from beneath the closest vampire while aiming the bow with one hand at his friend. As the first one crashed heavily to the ground she squeezed the trigger and fired her bolt straight into the heart of the second. He staggered and fell, exploding into a cloud of ash just before he hit the ground. She cast aside her empty crossbow, useless now that she was in amongst the gang of vampires, and tugged out the wooden stake she had tucked into the belt of her trousers. The first vampire was back on his feet and crouched low, burning yellow eyes fixed on her as he cautiously circled, looking for an opening in her guard.

Buffy had seized her sword and climbed to her feet just as Buzz sprang over the sarcophagus and rushed towards her. The two vampires she had kicked over had recovered and picked themselves up, and were advancing on her, wary now that she had a sharp weapon in her hands. Stakes could be blocked, but swords could easily slice through limbs. While that wasn't fatal for a vampire, it was inconvenient.

Behind her Buffy could hear the meaty thuds of Kennedy's fists connecting with the soft flesh of her opponent, followed by the poof of a vampire turning to ash and disintegrating as a wooden stake smashed through its rib cage and punctured its heart. She saw her opponents' eyes flicking between her and her sword and Kennedy behind her as they fanned out, hoping to outflank the slayers. They did, after all, still have the advantage in numbers. Not that that had helped before. Much.

Buffy studied them a moment to make sure they wouldn't try to catch her in a pincer movement, then, without warning, leaped forwards with her sword arm drawn back and high to swing down at Buzz and cleave him in two. Before she could even think about starting the downward arc of her attack the vampires had turned tail and fled. Seconds later she realized why as a bolt whistled passed her and drove itself through the back of one of the escaping vampires with a thud. He was dust before he hit the ground. Buffy picked a target and raced after him as Kennedy rapidly reloaded her crossbow.

A second vampire exploded into ash beside her as Buffy threw her shoulder into Buzz's lower back. They crashed down into the ground and immediately the vampire struggled to throw her off and get back up. Buffy cracked the butt of her sword handle into the back of his head to stun him. She felt him go limp briefly beneath her, and climbed off him to roll him over. The vampire blinked and tried to shake her off as she dragged him over to a nearby headstone and sat him up against it. Kennedy jogged up behind her with another bolt loaded into her crossbow.

"Whaddaya want?!" Buzz whimpered, hands up as the crossbow was aimed at his heart and Buffy's sword pressed against his throat. Cold steel bit cold flesh. "I'll do anything, please don't kill me."

Buffy rolled her eyes. She rarely met a vampire that kept the tough guy act up when beaten and alone. Prey on the weak, run away from the strong.

"I was thinking," She began casually, "That I haven't seen many vampires around lately. And I was wondering why that was."

"Really?" Buzz asked, looking at her as though she were mad. "You're a slayer. Isn't that a good thing?" Buffy pressed her sword harder against his throat. Thick, dark blood beaded against the blade. "Okay, okay, okay!" He tipped his head up and back to escape the sword, but the cool stone behind him wouldn't give. He licked his lips, tried to work some moisture into his dry mouth, mind racing as he tried to word an answer that would keep him alive. "There's, uh…Like a demon?" He started, yellow eyes darting from slayer to slayer. "Apparently doesn't take too kindly to sharing its killing grounds."

"What kind of demon?" Buffy asked sharply.

"I don't know, that's just what we heard. It's big and bad and fast as Hell. Some vamps got killed for hunting on its turf and everyone's keeping their heads down awhile. All I know is, it doesn't feed too often so we figured we'd chance it tonight." He scowled at them both. "Which turned out great."

"Aha." Buffy said unsympathetically. "Where's its turf?"

Buzz gulped.

"In the city…somewhere…" He said nervously. Buffy fixed him with a steely glare. The vampire tried to shrink back, discovered again that the headstone wouldn't give, and instead gave Buffy a piteous look. "I don't know." He moaned. "They're just rumours. It changes. You gunna let me go?"

"You're a vampire. We're slayers." Kennedy said, quirking one eyebrow. "What do you think?"

Before the vampire could answer, Buffy drew her sword across his neck. She felt steel bite through sinew and bone. He was ash before his head could fall.

Kennedy let out a low whistle.

"Now that's some home coming." She grinned at Buffy as the blonde slayer rose to her feet, wiping her sword clean on one sleeve.

"Am I glad you showed up when you did." She said softly, not looking at Kennedy. Embarrassed to have been found in that situation, bested by vampires.

"No problem." Kennedy replied, sensing her friend's awkwardness. She distracted herself by fiddling with her crossbow to discharge the bolt, slung the weapon across her shoulders and adjusted the strap against her chest. "Anyway, let's get outta here."

They made their way back through the cemetery to the entrance gates, Buffy collecting the saya for her sword as they passed the sarcophagus she had been pinned to. She slid the sword back into its casing and concealed it beneath her coat. Kennedy picked up her canvas duffle bag as they reached the gates.

"What are you doing back so soon?" Buffy asked her once they were back out on the road. "I thought you'd be doing the lone wolf thing way longer." She looked sideways at Kennedy, who shot her a sincere look.

"Well, Buffy. I just missed you."

Buffy looked disbelieving and Kennedy cracked a grin.

"Let's get back to yours for some coffee and I'll tell you all about it."

Buffy smiled and nodded. She was done with patrolling for the night.

* * *

"Kennedy, I don't care what you say, you're _not_ staying in a hotel!" Buffy continued the argument in a hoarse whisper as they crept into the hallway of her home.

"Well, I can't stay with you. There's no room any more!" Kennedy hissed, dumping her bag by the assembled shoes on the shoe rack, and turning to face Buffy as she closed the front door with a soft click.

"So sleep on the sofa until you can figure something out."

"I'm fine with staying in a hotel or whatever." Kennedy replied, following Buffy as she made her way through the hall and towards the kitchen.

"In Sunnydale I had an army of potentials crashing in my house, I'm sure I can cope with just you sleeping on the sofa." Buffy said, picking up the kettle and carrying it to the sink to fill. Kennedy sighed and leaned against the counter to watch Buffy bustle around the kitchen making them both mugs of coffee.

"Okay. Fine." She relented. "But I'd be perfectly fine renting or whatever. I don't need help." Buffy raised her eyebrows as she spooned coffee into mugs, with her back to Kennedy. "But…it's appreciated." She added awkwardly, folding her arms over her chest.

"Noted." Buffy assured her friend, turning to face her as she waited for the kettle to finish boiling, leaning against the work surface opposite. "I'm not doubting your lone wolfiness."

"Better not be." Kennedy gave a crooked smirk.

"So, what were you doing all that time?" Buffy asked. "Chilling out? Finding yourself? Founding a slayer security firm? All of the above?"

"None of the above." She said, watching the kettle wobble in its stand and billow steam as the water reached boiling point. The switch clicked off and the kettle calmed down. Buffy turned and poured water into their mugs, stirring in the coffee and milk. "There's not really much to tell." Kennedy admitted, stepping forwards to take her coffee as Buffy turned back and held out the mug to her. "I basically got a ticket from England back to America and travelled around, mainly hitch-hiking. Killed some monsters, dusted some vamps. Met up with a couple of slayer groups which was fun."

"Anyone I know?" Buffy asked curiously. After Sunnydale, that group of slayers had split off to do their own thing. She didn't hear much from them. And she knew the Scoobies weren't the only monster-fightin' team out there.

"No. And none of them are as cool as we are." Kennedy said, blowing across the top of her coffee to cool it before sipping.

"Well, that's a given." Buffy grinned at her. "You'll have to tell me all about it tomorrow. Today. Later." Kennedy grunted in agreement.

"Don't want to be repeating myself when the others get up…" She said, knowing she would be interrogated by the rest of the household later that day. And she had questions of her own. She wanted to see how Cat and Tara were fitting in, wanted to know how Willow and Dawn were doing. Questions best left until morning.

"Did you just get back to Cleveland tonight, then?" Buffy asked curiously.

"Yeah. Got bored and decided that was enough soul searching, wanted to head back to you Scoobies." Kennedy nodded softly, shrugging one shoulder. "I got back about an hour before bumping into you. I thought I'd patrol to kill some time before finding somewhere to stay. Apparently only the most expensive hotels have twenty four hour receptions."

"I know, right? It's not like your friends would let you stay for free!" Buffy said drily. Kennedy stuck out her tongue at her in response, the silver ball of her tongue bar glinting in the fluorescent light overhead. She didn't like feeling like a burden, like she needed help. She averted her gaze, looked down into her mug, half empty and still steaming.

"I suppose you want to go to sleep." She said after a moment of silence, knowing Buffy had to get up to do a gruelling nine-til-five in the morning. She glanced back up when Buffy didn't answer.

Buffy was frowning into her own mug, starting to feel a faint buzz of caffeine.

"Maybe coffee before bed was a bad idea…"

"Well, it's better than tea." Kennedy smirked and downed the rest of her coffee. Buffy looked amused.

"Don't let Cat or Giles hear you say that…" She said, taking the empty mug from Kennedy. She finished her own coffee and left both mugs in the sink to wash up in the morning. "Anyway, I have to get up for work in, oh…" She checked her wristwatch. "Four hours." She pulled a face. Not much sleep again. Lucky for her she had slayer energy reserves.

"Sleep is for the weak." Kennedy told her playfully. Buffy raised an eyebrow at her.

"Tell that to Dawn…" She replied, knowing her sister would take advantage of having no commitments for the day and sleep in late. "Okay, come on." She pushed off from the counter she had been leaning against and motioned for Kennedy to follow her as she left the kitchen. "Make yourself at home and I'll go grab you blankets and pillows." She gestured towards the sofa. Kennedy nodded, picking up her bag from the hall and carrying it over as Buffy tiptoed up the stairs. As with when Cat had stayed the night, she didn't want to wake Willow and Tara by entering their room (previously Willow and Kennedy's room) for the spare blankets and pillows, and so quietly went into her own room and grabbed one of her pillows and the blanket from the foot of her bed.

When she returned to the living room, Kennedy was sat cross legged on the sofa, changed into faded blue checked pyjama trousers and a white tank top.

"This sofa's getting a lot of action lately." Buffy remarked as she handed over the pillow and blanket. Kennedy raised both eyebrows and Buffy's eyes widened. "Not like that. Cat stayed the night the other day."

"Well." Kennedy said, putting the pillow on top of the cushions she had piled against one arm of the sofa and fluffing it up. "It's a comfy couch." She shook out the blanket and wriggled down until she felt comfortable, grinning up at Buffy. "You gunna tuck me in?"

"I'm starting to doubt your lone wolfiness." Buffy told her, arms folded over her chest and head tipped to one side. Kennedy pouted.

"'Night." She grumbled.

"Good night. We'll try not to wake you in the morning."

Buffy made her way slowly upstairs, feeling the excitement of the night start to wear her down. Suddenly the energy that had kept her going since the vampire attack left her and all she could think of was crawling into bed.

She closed her bedroom door behind herself and pulled off her clothes, chucking them carelessly aside and leaving them where they fell to tidy in the morning. She pulled on her pyjamas and climbed into bed and had barely tugged the covers over herself before sleep had wrapped her in its comforting embrace.


	13. Chapter 12

Morning came much too soon for Buffy. It felt almost as though she had only just laid down her head and fallen asleep when her alarm clock began belting out an incessant electronic buzzing that woke her with a jolt. She sat bolt upright, heart thundering with the sudden flood of adrenaline, and whacked the 'off' button. The noise cut out immediately and Buffy flopped back onto the bed, heaving a weary sigh. She ached still from the fight the night before and her eyes felt sore and gritty, her brain working much too slow. Coffee. Coffee would help.

With a groan she managed to roll out of bed. She landed on her feet and trudged across the room, pulled open the door and shuffled out onto the landing where she met Willow and Tara as they left their bedroom across from Buffy's, dressed and fresh faced already.

"Morning, Buffy!" Willow said, much too chirpy for the slayer's liking. Buffy groaned in response, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other.

"Rough night?" Tara asked sympathetically as she followed the slayer to the stairs.

"Something like that…" Buffy replied, pushing blonde hair mussed from sleeping back out of her face.

"Well, Tara's making pancakes, right, Tare?" Willow said, and her girlfriend smiled and nodded in agreement. "That'll make you feel better."

"Funny shapes?" Buffy asked hopefully as she made her way down the stairs and into the hallway, glancing back at Tara.

"Yup." Tara said.

"Make some for me!" Called a voice on the couch.

"Kennedy?!" Willow cried, staring through the doorway into the living room. "What are you doing here?!"

"Ooooh…" Buffy said slowly. "I forgot you were here…"

Kennedy's face scrunched in a frown and a pout as she stretched on the sofa, arms above her head, feet poking out from the end of her blanket.

"You guys are just…so accommodating…" She grumbled.

"Hi, Kennedy." Tara called cheerfully, waving from behind Buffy and Willow. "Um…We didn't know you were…back…? Are you back?"

"Yup." Kennedy slid upright as Buffy, Willow and Tara entered the living room. "Got back last night."

"Yes." Buffy said suddenly, waking up immediately. "We, um…bumped into each other. Patrolling." She shot Kennedy a pointed look, not wanting the precise details of that patrol to get out. While it wasn't the first time vampires had gained the upper hand, and probably wouldn't be the last, it was incredibly embarrassing and she hoped to keep that quiet.

The corner of Kennedy's mouth twitched in a playful smile, but she seemed to get the hint.

"You went on patrol before you even got here?" Willow frowned at her. Kennedy shrugged, not meeting her gaze.

"Well, it was an unsociable hour..." She said vaguely, deciding it would also be best to forget she had intended to find a hotel. Willow would object as much as Buffy had and would no doubt give her a long speech on accepting the hospitality of friends that she really couldn't be bothered to listen to right then. Or, ever.

"It's nice to see you, anyway." Tara told Kennedy, who looked pointedly at Buffy and Willow.

"Tara's nice." She told them.

"I'm tired!"

"It was a shock!"

Buffy and Willow protested at once. Tara jerked a thumb over one shoulder and backed out of the room as her girlfriend and friend continued to talk over each other, disputing the reason for Kennedy's comment.

"I'll just go make breakfast…" She said, and hurried off to the kitchen.

Buffy and Willow fell silent, both flopping onto the sofa either side of Kennedy.

"You look rough." The dark haired slayer told her fair haired counterpart. Buffy groaned and tipped her head back against the back of the sofa with her eyes closed.

"I just want to sleep." She sighed, then leaned forwards to look forlornly at Willow. "Why do we have to be responsible adults? I don't wanna go to work." She pouted.

"Think of the money." Willow replied.

"You sound like Anya…" Buffy told her, and Willow offered a small smile.

Between them both, Kennedy inhaled deeply as the scent of pancakes filtered out of the kitchen. She leaned back on the sofa with her arms folded behind her head.

"Breakfast smells _good._ " She said, then looked sideways at Willow with a mischievous grin. "Finally get to try your girl's famous pancakes, huh?"

Willow beamed proudly at her and nodded.

"I can't believe you're back." She said, eyeing Kennedy as though she expected her to poof into smoke and disappear. "It's been so long…"

"A month." Kennedy told her promptly. Not long in her eyes.

"No phone call…" Buffy raised an eyebrow. "We were worried."

"We missed you." Willow added.

"Sorry, mom." Kennedy quirked a mischievous smile, then looked between them apologetically. "I wanted to work some stuff out by myself. And then I got distracted by the vamps and the demons, and the other slayers…"

"Other slayers?" Willow asked curiously.

"Breakfast!" Tara called from the kitchen. Kennedy grinned at Willow and patted her knee.

"Later." She said, and hopped to her feet and dashed into the kitchen for pancakes.

* * *

An hour later Buffy, Willow and Tara were rushing out the front door, eager to get to work. Kennedy sat cross legged on the sofa, eyes glued to the TV screen with the remote in one hand as she idly channel hopped.

"Okay, so Dawn should be up around eleven, you can do something with her later." Buffy said, rummaging through her messenger bag to make sure she had everything she needed to get through the day.

"Aha." Kennedy answered vaguely.

"Giles is here, gotta go, bye!" Tara called, waving to the group as she made her way to the front door.

"See ya." Kennedy replied.

Willow kissed Tara's cheek as she passed.

"Have a good day." She said, and closed the door behind her girlfriend.

"Cat might be round for lunch. Please don't destroy anything. I know what you three are like." Buffy continued, zipping her bag shut and looking up at Kennedy. "Help yourself to food. We have to go now. Back around six."

"Bye." Kennedy said, not looking up from the TV.

"Careful in the kitchen. Have fun!" Willow called as she and Buffy rushed out the front door.

"Yup." Kennedy muttered. The door slammed shut and she was alone. Well, at least until Dawn woke up.

She heaved a sigh, bored already.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Jerry." She told the TV, dropping the remote beside herself and settling down to watch a mind numbing episode of Jerry Springer.

Half an hour later she hit stand by on the TV remote, unable to watch a moment more of stick thin, snaggle-toothed, peroxide women screeching at each other about home-wrecking.

"Billy Bob is clearly the father anyway." She admonished the blank screen as she rose from the sofa and made her way into the kitchen for a snack, raising her arms above her head and stretching out her spine as she walked. Entering the kitchen she immediately began raiding the cupboards for food, scoring the last of the Oreo pop tarts that had been hidden behind a box of store brand cereal. Feeling very pleased with herself she tore open the foil and shoved the sweet treats into the toaster, adjusted the timer and hit the button to toast them. She flicked on the radio as she passed it on her way to the bin, scrunching the pop tart packaging and chucking it into the bin. Turning back to the toaster a small clay urn caught her eye, sitting on the window ledge above the sink. In appearance it was fairly boring. Smooth, and matt grey, fairly squat, out of place in the relatively modern kitchen. And glowing from inside. She reached out and touched her fingers against the side and was surprised to find it felt warm, as though it had been standing in the sun all day, despite the overcast sky outside. She picked it up and peered inside to see a small glowing sphere sat inside, like a tiny sun, the resulting radiance bathing her face in warmth.

"Neat!" Kennedy exclaimed, shaking it lightly from side to side to see if the orb would move. It didn't. Somewhat disappointed she stuck the urn on the counter beside the sink and turned expectantly to the toaster as the smell of warmed sugar and pastry began to fill the kitchen. Seconds later her pop tarts jumped up. She grabbed a clean plate from the drying rack next to the sink and whipped the pop tarts out of the toaster before the pastry could burn her fingers.

"What are you doing?"

Kennedy spun round at the unexpected voice, her elbow catching the urn and sending it crashing to the floor where it shattered and the light swiftly fizzled out.

"Kennedy?!" Dawn blinked at her from the doorway of the kitchen. She still wore her pyjamas, hair fluffed up from sleep, with the bleary look of someone that had only just woken up.

"Hi, Dawn." Kennedy spoke around a mouthful of food. She put her plate on the counter and crouched to start scraping the shards of clay into a pile, but stopped abruptly when she noticed it was steaming. "Uh…That's not good…" She dropped the shards she had picked up and rubbed her fingers together as they felt cold and wet. Dawn hurried over and stared down at the broken urn.

"Oh no…You broke Willow's experiment!" She cried.

"Experiment?" Kennedy looked up at Dawn to find that the steam was slowly coalescing into a shape that was steadily rising up between them both. "Uh…What kind of experiment?" She asked, standing up and backing away.

"I don't know, they don't like me anywhere near the magic stuff." Dawn told her, looking nervous. She snatched up a tea towel from where it was hooked over a drawer handle and began flapping it at the steam in an effort to disperse the cloud. The cloud merely changed shape, growing larger and darker until it formed an angry thunderhead the size of a standard bed pillow.

"Oh great…" Kennedy muttered as the cloud gave a muffled rumble and began raining on the floor, still rising steadily between them.

"What should we do?" Dawn asked, sensing the mess would land them in a heap of trouble with Buffy and Willow.

"You're better with magic than me." Kennedy replied, dark eyes tracking the cloud as it hovered at head height. "For now I'd grab a bucket."

Dawn chucked the towel in amongst the shards of urn that were rapidly turning into a large puddle on the linoleum and turned to go to the utility cupboard when Kennedy gave a loud exclamation from behind her.

"You gotta be kidding me!"

The cloud was now hovering firmly in place above Kennedy's head. She dodged to the left and then the right, but the cloud drifted after her. She paused a moment, eyebrows creased in frustration as cool water streamed over her head and shoulders, then sprinted across the kitchen and out into the hallway, the cloud following close behind and raining all the way.

"Ooooh…Hell no…" Dawn muttered, sensing an impending flood in the living room. She wrenched open the cupboard door and grabbed a bucket and a mop, then chased after the slayer. "Kennedy!"

* * *

Cat had enjoyed an unusually long lay in that morning and had woken up feeling refreshed and full of energy. She had pottered around her apartment a respectful couple of hours until she was certain Dawn would be awake before taking a leisurely stroll across town to the Summers/Rosenberg/Maclay residence. The morning was cool and crisp, hinting at the coming Winter. Cat had pulled on a heavy black duster that flapped behind her in the wind. A red-and-black striped scarf was wrapped twice around her neck and protected her lower face from the chill air, while the ends trailed passed her waist. She had her hands stuffed into the pockets of her black skinny jeans watching the scuffed toes of her old black Doc Martens as she walked the familiar path without thinking about it.

By the time she approached her destination it was just gone midday. Cat hopped up onto the front step and stretched up for the door knocker, rapping it twice and stepping back down onto the front path to wait for Dawn to answer. A minute passed. Two. Cat cocked her head and arched one eyebrow. Knocked again. Still no answer.

Maybe Dawn was having an extra long lie in? No…She could hear voices from the living room, but the curtains were drawn preventing her from seeing inside. So maybe the TV was on too loud for the teen to hear the door. Cat rolled her eyes and moved away from the front of the house to head around the side, squeezing passed the metal trash cans, to the back door. It was usually unlocked.

A quick peek through the kitchen window revealed no one in sight. She could hear the radio playing on the window sill. _Hooked on a feeling_ reached her ears as she tried the door handle. The back door clicked open and she stepped inside.

"Yo, Dawn, are you a-woah!" A loud squeak and a bang announced her feet sliding out from beneath her and the reaper crashed down onto the kitchen floor into a puddle of water. Stars exploded behind her eyes as her head struck the tiles and she lay flat on her back blinking up at the ceiling in surprise.

Dawn's face appeared in the air above her looking confused and concerned.

"Cat? Are you okay?!" She asked, reaching down and helping the reaper to her feet. Cat's boots skidded in the water but she managed to get up and stood rubbing the back of her head where a small egg was now forming, while looking around at the minor flood around her.

"Uh…What's happening?" She asked, wincing as her fingers brushed against the lump on her skull. Dawn threw up her arms in frustration.

"I have no idea! There's a mystical rain shower in the front room that won't shut off and I can't get hold of Willow or Tara to find out what I'm supposed to do and the magic books are useless." Cat quirked an eyebrow at Dawn.

"What did you do…?" She asked. Dawn scowled at her.

"I didn't do anything!" She grumbled. "It was all Kennedy." Cat did a double take.

"Kennedy?" She asked. "Kennedy's here?"

Dawn gave an irritated sigh and waved the reaper through as she marched across the kitchen and out through the hall into the living room where she pointed accusingly at the dark-haired slayer who was stood miserably on top of a shower curtain, holding an open umbrella above her head and surrounded by buckets that were rapidly filling with water as an angry thunderhead roiled above her, omitting the occasional low rumble and light fizzle of lightning. Cat frowned at her, then turned to Dawn.

"You took the time to go get the shower curtain but you didn't think to stand her in the bath tub?"

Kennedy and Dawn exchanged a look, then both made a sprint for the stairs.

* * *

"There has to be a spell in here _somewhere_!" Dawn grumbled, flicking through dry and brittle page after page of the third spell book she had picked up since transferring Willow and Tara's collection of books to the bathroom for ease of access. She stood pacing the small room while Cat sat cross legged on the toilet with hers. Even Kennedy had pitched in with the effort and was huddled in the bath tub beneath her umbrella with a book open on her knees as she frowned at the pages.

Cat gave an "Iono." Noise and looked up at Kennedy.

"What's yours saying?"

"I don't know." Kennedy said in exasperation. "It's in Latin or something."

Dawn snatched the book away from the slayer, flipped it round and shoved it back at her.

"Try reading it the right way up."

Cat stared at Kennedy, slowly raising one eyebrow, until the slayer glowered at her.

"What? I'm being rained on indoors, ya know? It's distracting!"

"Well then, you shouldn't upset Willow's urns, should you?" Cat taunted her. Kennedy opened her mouth to snap a comeback and jabbed a finger in her direction, but was stopped from responding by Dawn snapping her book shut and chucking it onto the discard pile.

"Please do _not_ start!" She begged. "I really need to fix this before the others get home. You _know_ I'll get the blame."

"Yes, ma'am." Cat said, flipping her current book closed and reaching for the next one in her pile.

Standard 'finish' spells hadn't done anything to stop what was happening and the reaper was fast beginning to suspect Willow had crafted her own halt command into the spell. If so, that was going to cause them serious problems. Her knowledge of magic was incredibly limited. She had no clue how to undo that kind of spell crafting.

"Ooh, what about…" Kennedy frowned at the book in front of her, and slowly sounded out a word. A puff of smoke exploded at the end of the bath tub, causing the three of them to jump. The smoke cleared to reveal a fluffy white rabbit sat in the tub with Kennedy. As they watched it sat up on its hind legs and began to clean its ears.

"Cute, but I don't think that's what we're looking for." Cat told Kennedy deadly seriously. Kennedy rolled her eyes at her friend and looked back at her book to find the word that would send the rabbit back to wherever it had come from. A moment later she had it and the rabbit disappeared in a second puff of smoke.

"This is so boring." She grumbled, flicking pages and skim reading. "I don't know how Willow and Tara do it."

"With a healthy respect for the natural order of things." Cat replied vaguely as she scanned the contents page of the hefty tome she currently held. "And a deep understanding of balance." She looked up at the ceiling as she considered that. With magic if you took something away, you had to replace it. Did that apply here? Maybe… Or maybe Kennedy's disruption of the spell had created an imbalance that only one with the proper magical understandings could correct.

"Magic is awesome but headache inducing…" Dawn sighed, fast losing hope that they could fix the problem before the others returned home from work.

"Woah…" Kennedy said suddenly.

"That was hardly deep." Cat replied, glancing up to see Kennedy had sat up straight and was staring at her book, dark eyes flashing from line to line with an unusual interest.

"Woah?" Dawn asked, sensing the change in the slayer also.

"I think I've found something." Kennedy said, looking over to Dawn. "But you're not going to like it."

* * *

Dawn kicked open the bathroom door and stumbled inside to thump down her bucket of dirt on the tiled floor.

"You're totally cleaning this up after." She told Kennedy and Cat. "Even if it doesn't work."

"It will." Kennedy said with certainty. "It's magic, right?"

"Which never goes wrong." Cat rolled her eyes, reaching into the bucket and adding more damp earth to the lines she was making on the floor in the shape of a square, while Kennedy sat in the tub being rained on and supervising with her book. "And this is so wrong! It's always a magic _circle_! Whoever heard of a magic _square_?!"

Kennedy waved her book at them, and hastily whipped it back within the safety of her umbrella as it received a dangerous sprinkling of rain water.

"The magic book says so." She insisted. "The shape associated with earth is square."

"And earth is going to neutralize the spell?" Dawn asked sceptically.

"Apparently." Kennedy replied. "Fire melts metal, water quenches fire-"

"Earth absorbs water. So you keep saying." Cat said, standing up from where she knelt on the floor and wiping her muddy hands on her jeans. "The part you kinda glazed over is that we don't speak Chinese!"

"Duh! It's in English too!" Kennedy shot her a dark look. "I might be magically illiterate but I'm not an idiot. How'd you think _I_ read it?"

"Okay, gimme." Dawn held out her hand for the book. "You sit in the square. With _out_ the umbrella." Kennedy opened her mouth to protest.

"Hey, we don't want any stray Chinese elements messing anything up." Cat said with a little smirk. "That pole is metal!" Kennedy glowered at her and thrust the umbrella and book at Dawn to sit in amongst the dirt on the floor with her cloud hovering above her head raining down on her and emitting the occasional rumble of thunder and spark of lightning. "We so need to talk to Willow about her magic health and safety."

"Funny." Kennedy said deadpan. Cat pressed a finger to her lips as Dawn began to read from the book, slowly enunciating the words that had been written out in English. Her brow was creased in a frown of concentration as she stared down at the book in her hands.

Kennedy watched as the water flowed over her and pooled around her on the floor. It spread out to the earth square but moved no further. A moment later the falling rain began to slow. She glanced up to Cat and met her gaze, looking a little stunned that the crude magic seemed to be working. Cat grinned and gave her a thumbs up, then pointed above Kennedy's head. The slayer looked up and blinked as she saw the cloud was shrinking and turning bright white and fluffy. The final rain drop fell and splashed onto Kennedy's forehead. She looked back down over to Dawn, the raindrop rolling down the bridge of her nose to fall off the tip, and grinned. As the teen stopped speaking the cloud dispersed into nothing.

"You did it." She needlessly announced. Dawn looked up from the book and seemed surprised at her own success.

"Holy rainclouds, Batman," Cat said, hopping from her perch on the toilet lid to clap Dawn on the shoulder. "We'll make a Wiccan of you yet."

"You guys helped." Dawn replied with a crooked smile, closing her book and resting it atop the neat pile of unread books.

"Okay, I'm thinking lunch then clean up?" Cat said, clapping her hands together, then pulling a face and wiping her gritty palms on her T-shirt.

"I'm going to dry off first, but I second that plan." Kennedy told them from the floor.

"Thirded." Dawn announced as her stomach rumbled loudly.

"I hope you have a load of hairdryers, 'cause the carpet's soaked out there." Cat told her. Dawn sighed and trudged out of the bathroom.

* * *

Buffy, Willow and Tara arrived home at the same time, as they usually did, and were chattering amongst themselves as Willow let them in with her door key. Buffy paused as her feet squelched on the carpet, and looked down to see a large damp patch that seemed to trail into the living room at up the stairs.

"What the…?" Tara blinked as she stared past her friend at the mess that hadn't quite dried in time… Willow closed the door behind them and thought about taking off her shoes but changed her mind when she saw how wet the floor was.

Buffy's jaw set and she stood with her hands on her hips.

"DAWN!"

They heard a scramble from the living room as several people clambered to their feet and dashed into the hall. Dawn, Kennedy, and Cat stood side by side in front of them attempting to look meek. Kennedy wore a fluffy pink bathrobe borrowed from Dawn, and Cat's clothes appeared covered in mud. Buffy hadn't been prepared for that sight, and merely stared at the trio.

"Um…What happened?" Tara asked curiously.

"Kennedy did it!" Dawn said quickly.

"Dawn!" Kennedy protested.

"We have a traitor in our midst!" Cat announced melodramatically.

"Kennedy did _what_?" Buffy demanded.

"I knocked the urn over." Kennedy admitted with a sigh.

"Urn?" Buffy asked in confusion, but Willow gasped in horror and dashed into the kitchen. She came running back out seconds later, green eyes fixed furiously on Kennedy.

"You broke my solar bomb?!" She cried. Kennedy arched one eyebrow.

"Wow, that was a _bomb_?"

"It would have been if you hadn't broken it!" Willow snapped. "Do you have any idea how long that took me to make?! It could have revolutionized the way we flush out vampire nests!"

"Definitely with you on the flushing." Kennedy commented.

"You ruined my experiment! _And_ trashed the house! The least you could do is apologise!" Willow said furiously. Tara reached up and lay a calming hand on her lover's shoulder.

"Witches be crazy…" Cat muttered, and Kennedy snorted. Tara softly cleared her throat, blue eyes focussed on a spot behind the three miscreants. Kennedy got the point.

"I'm sorry I broke everything." She said sincerely.

"Great." Buffy said, sighing as she shrugged off her jacket and squelched further into the house. "So. Who's up for Chinese?"


	14. Chapter 13

Cat was spread out on her back across the battered old sofa in the staff room of the hospital she worked at (one of many in the city), the only occupant in the room at that moment. Fluorescent strip lights hummed overhead, bathing the room in their much too bright white glow, giving the plastic chairs and formica topped tables sharp, unreal edges. The standard issue white plastic wall clock across the room ticked loudly, announcing, despite Cat's disbelief, that yes, time actually was passing. Albeit suspiciously slowly. She gave a wide jaw-popping yawn and swung her legs over the edge of the faded yellow sofa, boots hitting the threadbare carpet before she actually hauled herself upright, keeping her thumb between the pages of the book she had been reading. It was 2am and her break was over. She placed her bookmark between the pages she had read to and snapped her book shut, stuffed it back into her rucksack and kicked the bag out of the way beside the sofa as she stood up and arched her spine until it cracked loudly. With a sigh of contentment she smoothed out her shirt and made her way out of the room and into a corridor that smelled of disinfectant, starched sheets and the various chemicals and…other things that made up the uncomfortable scent she had come to name 'hospital smell'. More harsh lightning and bland colours (dark green floor, white painted plaster walls) gave her surroundings that unreal insomnia quality. And it was quiet. Save for the thud and squeak of her rubber soles against the floor.

She strolled back towards the reception area of the minor injuries unit she worked security for and smiled at the bleary eyed woman behind the desk. The receptionist was sorting through sheaves of paper and folders, placing them into a stack of trays beside her computer ready to be picked up and taken to the appropriate wards and offices.

The room was filled with muffled conversation and the soft metallic clink of someone feeding coins to the vending machine in the corner. Across the room the heavy glass doors leading out into the car park showed a pitch black night sky.

"Where's Frank gone?" Cat's partner in crime for the graveyard shift.

"Uh…Out for a smoke." The receptionist replied distantly, glancing over a print out. Cat nodded and leaned against the desk, surveying the almost empty waiting room. It was a quiet night, just a few bumps and cuts and one incident involving super glue and a lamp. The weekend was when Cat felt actually needed, when the angry drunks and punch up injuries walked (or hobbled) through their doors.

Frank would have gone around the side of their block to smoke, out of sight of any potential patients or family members turning up. Maybe even further along to accident and emergency to smoke with the security guys over there. There was no telling how long he would be.

"Slow night, eh?"

The receptionist raised her eyes to Cat's and opened her mouth to agree. Instead she glanced behind the reaper and immediately leaped to her feet. Cat frowned at the woman and turned to follow her gaze. Behind the double set of automatic doors that opened out into the car park she could see three people tripping up the concrete ramp to the doors. A man and a woman struggling to hold up a sagging and barely conscious twenty-odd year old guy as they frantically ran. Cat saw blood, and a lot of it. She darted forwards as the doors slid open and heard the receptionist behind her snatch up her phone and punch in the numbers to call for assistance.

"HELP! We need help!" The woman cried shrilly. She had run bare foot across the freezing tarmac, a pair of stilettos clasped in one hand. She and the man who Cat assumed must be her partner were dressed up smart for partying or clubbing. He had blood staining what had been a pale blue shirt. The man they were helping was early twenties and wore just a hoody and jeans, a canvas messenger bag slung across his chest. Cat had no clue what he had been up to but his green hoody was spattered with mud and blood, deep scores across his chest and face. She saw a thin satin scarf had been tied around his left forearm, but it was doing nothing to stop what must have been a deep wound to judge from the red sprinkling over the linoleum floor.

"What happened?!" Cat demanded, standing between the injured man and the rest of the waiting room who were already gawping and talking loudly, their own injuries and ailments seemingly forgotten.

"Monster!" Yelped the victim, lunging for Cat as she moved forwards to help the couple support him, and desperately gripping her upper arms, leaving bloody handprints on the cotton sleeves of her shirt. He was pale and sweating, eyes wide and frantic, delirious. "It was a monster!" He stared at her a moment, willing her to believe, before his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed. Cat and his rescuers grabbed a hold of him before he could hit the floor, just as the double doors at the end of the corridor crashed open and a team of hospital staff charged towards them wheeling a bed at high speed.

"He was attacked in the street." The woman explained to no one in particular, pushing her blonde hair back from her face with trembling hands. Cat turned to look to her. "We didn't see it but we heard…"

Heard what exactly, Cat was pretty sure she already knew.

"I've called the police." The receptionist announced, looking through the crowd of doctors and nurses to Cat, who nodded and turned back to the couple.

"You'll need to stay here for questioning." She told them, glancing away after the mauled man on his bed already being wheeled off to some ward or operating theatre or whatever. He would need to be questioned too. By the police, yes, and by her.

* * *

The rest of Cat's shift passed by without incident. The passage of time however seemed to slow to a crawl. She had ushered the injured man's rescuers into an empty office and waited with them until the police showed up, where she left them to their questions and hung around in the waiting room again, watching the clock continuously. She was eager to get away, to find that injured man and ask her own questions. On their way out the police had pulled her aside to ask her questions, and scribble down her answers in their little spiral bound notepads. They thanked her for her time and left the hospital, both of them. So the injured man was alone in recovery, just the odd nurse and doctor checking up on him. Cat would be free to find him and speak with him. Providing he was conscious of course.

Finally her shift was over and she dashed to the staff room to collect her jacket and rucksack, calling her goodbyes over one shoulder. She had discovered the man had been put in a room of his own on the other side of the building she was in. A little hard to explain why she was there if asked but she had mastered the art of walking with purpose to avoid questions. She clipped her ID badge onto the waistband of her trousers and left the staff room, striding down corridors towards her goal.

She pushed through double doors onto the dimly lit ward, a long corridor with a desk tucked into an alcove at one end, single rooms on either side. The doors behind her swooshed shut and she made her way silently along the corridor, peering into darkened rooms until she found the right one. He had the light on still. Usually a nurse would have turned it off.

Cat lightly tapped her knuckles on the wooden door, peering in through the glass. The man's head snapped round to look towards the noise nervously. She waved and inched the door open, slipping inside and closing it behind her.

"Hi." She said, pausing where she stood. He watched her from the bed, clearly confused. "Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Are you police?" He asked. "No, no, you're the security lady, aren't you?" Cat nodded, stepping closer to the bed. He wore a hospital gown and what could be seen of his arms were swathed in bandages and gauze. "I remember." He mumbled, looking away into the opposite corner of the room.

"I just wanted to speak with you about what happened?" Cat pressed.

"Why?"

"Um. Well, it's hard to explain. But I think it might have something to do with a thing I'm currently…investigating. Which helps the police." She slid the rucksack from her shoulder onto the floor, dragging over the chair from the corner of the room and leaving it beside the bed. The man was now watching her suspiciously.

"That sounds unofficial." He told her.

"Okay, why don't we start with names?" She offered, sitting down. "I'm Cat."

"Clarke." He replied after a moment.

"Like Superman?" Cat grinned. He simply looked at her. She cleared her throat awkwardly. This was why they really needed to get Tara 'interviewing' people during their 'investigations'. "Could you tell me what happened to you, Clarke?"

"I was attacked." He said simply.

"By what?"

He shook his head, looking away from her again, closing up. She noticed his hands shaking faintly above the blanket.

"You wouldn't believe me." He said. "They didn't."

"You'd be surprised." Cat said, in a tone she hoped invited confidence.

"The doctors told me it was a hallucination or something brought on by stress." He took a deep breath and looked at her. "But what happened was… Or what I _think_ happened was this… _thing_ just jumped me in the street, out of no where, like a monster or something. I don't know. I mean it _looked_ like a monster. Like nothing I've ever seen before. But, I mean, I watch a lot of horror movies and my imagination sometimes goes a bit-"

"I believe you." Cat interrupted him. "You don't have to explain yourself to me. Can you tell me what it looked like?"

Clarke licked his lips nervously, staring up at the ceiling panels as though they held the answers to all his questions.

"I understand if it's too difficult." Cat said gently. Clarke remained silent, though she could see he was tentatively gathering his thoughts. Trying to recollect enough information while remaining a safe distance from his memories. "Maybe I could start." The reaper suggested. "It's an unnaturally tall and spindly thing that moves blindingly fast."

Clarke turned his head to look at her in surprise.

"With long claws and eyes that-"

"Glow silver." He interrupted her. "How did you know…?"

"I've seen it too." Clarke stared at her in surprise. "And I'm going to stop it. Me and my friends. So you don't need to worry, okay? It'll be gone soon. I promise."

"Okay." Clarke said, sensing there was more to this young woman than bad jokes and a cocky attitude.

"Rest up." Cat said, picking up her rucksack and climbing to her feet. Knowing he had been attacked by the demon they were after was enough, she didn't need to agitate him further. "And, um…Get well soon." She pulled one of the straps up over one shoulder. Clarke pulled a face and looked down at his arms.

"Sure…"

"Bye, then." Cat said awkwardly and left the room. The door clicked softly behind her and she stood in the corridor with her eyes screwed shut. " _Bye, then_." She mimicked herself. "What a dork." She muttered, stalking off down the corridor towards the nearest exit.

Tara definitely needed to be recruited as their official Scooby interviewer. Still, she had managed to find out what she needed.

Outside the air was cold and crisp and stung her bare hands and face. The sun was just rising across the city, the light hard and grey and mostly blocked by the heavy rainclouds looming on the horizon, hanging low in the sky. Even as Cat crossed the hospital car park cold fat drops of water fell at intervals from the heavens, threatening a torrential downpour at any moment.

Home would have to wait a while yet. She wanted to get to the Summers/Rosenberg/Maclay residence first to set up the bat signal and organise a Scooby meeting for that evening. She turned up the collar of her coat, ducked her head against the rain drops that were gradually falling faster and harder, and ran out onto the street and across the road to the bus stop. There was no shelter and so she huddled under the signpost for ten minutes while the rain continued to fall until the bus finally turned up.

Her stop was just five minutes' walk from Buffy's home. However, even sprinting she arrived soaked through. She stood under the welcome shelter of the front porch and pushed her short fringe out of her eyes. Water dripped from her coat onto the concrete slabs of the front step. She sighed and knocked on the glass panel set in the centre of the door, knowing the doorbell would wake Dawn up. The others should be awake by now, getting ready for work. Sure enough she only had to wait a minute before she heard movement from inside the house. Shortly after that a pink shape swam into view, distorted by the glass. The door opened a crack and Buffy peeped round.

"Cat? Hi!" The slayer said in confusion, opening the door wider to reveal she was still in her pajamas, with a pink fluffy dressing gown over the top.

"Hi." Cat replied grimly. "We need to talk."


	15. Chapter 14

Cat stood in the kitchen of the Summers/Rosenberg/Maclay household with a steaming mug of coffee in one hand and a fluffy blue towel around her shoulders. Her coat and boots had been left in the hallway and now Buffy, Willow, Tara and Kennedy stood around her listening as she briefed them on the drama that had occurred on her shift at the hospital.

"He knew the demony thing, spot on." She said, taking the plate of toast Buffy offered her with a nod of thanks. She left her mug on the work surface behind her and lifted a triangle of buttered toast and took a large bite, suddenly finding herself starving hungry.

"Poor man." Tara murmured sympathetically, folding her arms over her chest and looking concerned.

"Good thing those people were around." Willow added. Cat nodded vigorously, munching on her breakfast.

"I know right?" She said around a mouthful of bread and butter. Willow raised an eyebrow at her manners and the reaper swallowed, licked her lips, and continued. "I spoke to them. Sounds like they surprised it, stopped the attack. If they hadn't then he'd be…Well, toast!" She held up her breakfast for emphasis.

"Okay, but why'd such a powerful demon get frightened off by two regular people?" Buffy asked, frowning into her bowl of cereal. "It was more than happy to take on me and you." She pointed at Cat with her spoon. Cat merely shrugged her shoulders and continued eating.

"Maybe it just doesn't like surprises." Kennedy suggested.

"Surprises are most definitely of the bad." Cat said. "Nobody likes surprises."

"I like surprises." Willow said cheerfully. "Tara gave me a nice surprise last night with a-"

"Cat! More coffee?" Tara offered loudly, diving for the coffee pot, as Kennedy snorted into her own mug.

"Um, anyway…" Buffy said, looking amused as a flustered Tara refilled Cat's mug. "I'll get word out of a Scooby meeting later? We need to figure out what this thing is and how to kill it. Fast."

"Yes, ma'am." Kennedy saluted.

"I'll go home, get changed and sleep." Cat said. "Be back later, say…around eight?"

"Sounds like a plan, Batman." Willow nodded her agreement.

"Okay…It's a date…Robin…?" Cat replied uncertainly. Willow wrinkled her nose.

"I'm not Robin." She grumbled. Tara bumped hips with her playfully.

"You're Batgirl." She said.

"If people knew we were the ones that rescued them they'd be mortified." Kennedy remarked drily.

"Ain't nothing wrong with nerds." Cat told her seriously.

* * *

It was gone 10am when Dawn emerged from her bedroom. Hunger had driven her from the warm cocoon of her bed and into the kitchen for breakfast. She heard voices from the TV in the living room and so poured herself a bowl of cereal, made coffee, and took it to the sofa to sit with Kennedy. The dark haired slayer had one of Willow and Tara's hefty magic books open in her lap, but sat completely ignoring it in favour of the mundane drama of some sitcom re-run.

"Morning." Kennedy greeted her, watching Dawn shuffle across the carpet. The teen merely grunted in response and dropped onto the sofa beside her. Kennedy turned back to the TV and waited for Dawn to get some caffeine into her system.

"So," Dawn said, several mouthfuls of coffee and sugary cereal later. "Are you doing voluntary research?" She looked down at the book Kennedy was 'reading'.

"No…" Kennedy sighed. "Cat dropped by after work. Some kind of craziness rocked up in the middle of her shift."

"I thought that only happened at the weekends?" Dawn said, spooning Apple Jacks into her mouth. "She okay?"

"Yeah. Our demon thing attacked some guy."

Dawn looked sideways at Kennedy, spoon halfway between the bowl and her mouth.

"He okay…?" She asked nervously.

"Apparently." The dark haired slayer nodded, flipping idly through her book. "There's gunna be a Scooby meeting later. Figured I might as well try and look into it. But…I don't actually know what I'm looking for so…" She dumped her book back amongst the pile swamping the coffee table and leaned back on the sofa.

"Needle meet haystack. Right?" Dawn asked, gesturing to the books.

"Yup."

"We need to find a way to narrow it down." Dawn said thoughtfully. Kennedy climbed to her feet and stretched out her spine.

"You figure it out, let me know." She said. "I'm going to the shop, want anything?" She looked down at Dawn who shook her head. "All right. Let me in when I get back."

"Sure." Dawn replied, concentrating now on her breakfast and puzzling over ways to narrow down their search. A moment later she heard the front door close. She dropped her spoon into her empty bowl, drained her mug of coffee and stood up, taking them into the kitchen and leaving them in the sink to wash up later.

Their monster demon thing had the characteristics of many different monster demon things, but none of them quite fit the bill. Luckily they had first hand witness reports of the thing so they could easily discount the creatures in their books. Unluckily, they were discounting most of the creatures in their books. Even the internet was throwing up useless hits.

So then maybe focussing on a different aspect would help them figure out exactly what they were dealing with.

Dawn frowned as she slowly wandered up the stairs to her bedroom. What could they investigate that may help? Her eyes widened as an idea formed, and she sprinted the rest of the way to her bedroom to get dressed.

She needed a computer, the internet and a printer, two of which she had at home, but all of which could be found in the local library.

Kennedy returned as Dawn was packing notebook and pens into her messenger bag in the hall. She pulled on her coat, swung the bag onto one shoulder and charged out the door calling out, "Going out, back later, bye!"

The door swung shut behind her and she hurried down the street, hands stuffed in coat pockets against the cold.

* * *

Puddles reflected the iron grey sky above. The pavement and roads were still soaked and the air still damp, though it had stopped raining a couple of hours ago. Dawn was swiftly rethinking choosing Converse as her footwear for this outing as she hopped over one large puddle and crossed the road.

She was grateful when she reached the library after twenty minutes brisk walking. It was a large square lump of concrete that had probably been built in the sixties and really hadn't changed much, but it was warm and quiet as all libraries should be. She pushed open the doors and entered, leaving behind the sounds of the city in exchange for hushed words and whispering pages. She could only see a handful of people milling around shelves, and a couple of library staff manning the front desk. She smiled at the staff and made her way over towards the bank of computers hidden away at the back of the building. One of them was taken already by a student furiously tapping away at the keyboard. Dawn chose the last computer at the end of the row in the corner. She dropped her bag beside the swivel chair, sat down and took her library card out of her pocket. She typed in her membership details and sat back to wait for the computer to log her in.

Her grand plan was to look into any strange disappearances over the past few months, particularly ones that fit the gruesome modus operandi of their monster, in the hope that something connected the victims. Something that might help them to figure out exactly what it was they were looking for. She knew it was a long shot, but it was better than nothing. And if she turned up nothing they could use in identifying the monster at least they would have a rough list of possible victims. That could be useful. Somehow…

Dawn sighed, feeling like she was already grasping at straws, and opened the internet browser. As the page loaded she realised she had no idea how to start her search. Cleveland missing persons? Cleveland murders? Cleveland crime September/October/November? Buffy had mentioned seeing posters around town asking for information on missing people, would she be able to get into the NamUs website to find information on them?

She stared blankly at the cursor blinking persistently in the search box, already feeling overwhelmed. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, and then finally she began to type. Google first. Government funded search engines later.

* * *

Fiery sunlight slanted in through the narrow windows set high up close to the ceiling around the walls of the library. Dawn blinked at the time displayed in the bottom right corner of the computer screen and realised she had been sat in the library all day. Buffy, Willow and Tara would be finishing work soon and heading home. She printed the latest document she had created and hurried to the printer to collect it. The printer was a hulking mass of grey plastic that hadn't been updated in years. It coughed and wheezed and generally made a scene of printing anything. Eventually it spat out Dawn's pages and she snatched them up and hurried to her work station to close the documents and websites and log off. She stuffed the printouts into her bag, pulled on her coat and headed out of the library, swinging her bag across her body as she shouldered open the doors and made her way onto the street.

The clouds had cleared somewhat while Dawn had been hidden away inside, though the streets were still damp with rain. The sky still looked cold and grey despite the warm colours of the sunset painting the remaining clouds and the horizon with fire. As night approached the temperature dropped and Dawn hunched her shoulders and stuffed her hands into her coat pockets to stay warm, heading home at a brisk pace.

It didn't take her long, and soon she was fishing in her bag for her house keys as she walked up the path to the front door. Apparently Kennedy heard her coming as the door opened before Dawn had even reached it to reveal the slayer towel drying her long hair. She wore pale grey tracksuit trousers and a white tank top, and stepped back to let Dawn in.

"Hey. I ordered Chinese for dinner." She announced as Dawn passed.

"You know you could have cooked?" The teen answered, dumping her bag on the floor and sitting on the stairs to untie the laces of her Converse. Kennedy shut the door and hung her towel around her neck to finger-comb her hair.

"Yeah but…I'm the guest and I couldn't be bothered." She replied. "Anyway, where've you been all day?"

"Library." Dawn said, standing and hanging her coat up by the front door.

"Willow would be proud." Kennedy remarked drily.

"Yup. What've you been up to all day, then?"

"Stuff." Kennedy said. "Training mainly. Research briefly."

"Find anything useful?" Dawn asked as she made her way into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water.

"Um…A lot of books need to be translated into English because dead languages are dead and that about sums it up." Kennedy said, following her in to raid the cupboards for a snack. Dawn considered that while gulping down water.

"I guess that counts." She said eventually.

* * *

Eight O'clock found the residents of the Summers/Rosenberg/Maclay household joined by Giles, Xander and Cat grouped around the coffee table in the living room. Books lay stacked around the table that was now hidden beneath left over Chinese in white cartons and on plates. Cat and Xander were happily scavenging unwanted lukewarm noodles and chicken as Buffy relayed the information Cat had gathered early that morning for the sake of Xander and Giles.

"-and really it should be Cat telling you this." She finished, while pointedly eyeing Cat. The reaper looked up and swallowed her mouthful of prawn crackers, chased it with the can of coke she had received on arrival and grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry. Free food." She explained. "You did a great job though."

"Yes, thank you, Buffy." Giles said, leaning forwards from his position on the sofa and resting his elbows on his knees to look at Cat, who was sitting cross legged on the floor at the other end of the coffee table. "And well done Cat for speaking to the young man. But all that does is reinforce the notion that we really need to identify this creature, find it, and put a stop to it. We have no real information to go off."

"Research is hard…" Xander whined.

"Which is why I went to the library this morning!" Dawn said. She had brought her bag into the living room with her and rummaged in it now to produce the wad of printouts she had gathered from the library. "I thought maybe if we can't figure out the demony thing maybe its victims could give us some clues."

"Great idea, Dawn." Tara encouraged and smiled at her. "What have you got for us?"

"I did some Googling and basically just looked into disappearances and deaths and things in the area that fit our demon's MO." Dawn said, handing out sheets of paper to the group sat around the coffee table.

"You have _got_ to stop watching CSI." Buffy told her, accepting several sheets of paper with a photograph of a young woman above a series of bullet points.

"Also, excessive violence, evisceration, and chowing down on humans doesn't really narrow it down…" Xander piped up. "Not to rain on your parade or anything…" He added as Dawn scowled at him.

"Anyway, these are all cases from the past year. Things have really been picking up over the last six months though." Dawn continued.

"It's escalating." Giles commented, leafing through the pages he had been given to find there were mere weeks between each victim being reported missing. He recognised some from news broadcasts on TV.

"Huh…" Buffy said softly, staring down at the photograph she held of one of the victims. The sound of recognition was enough to stop the rustling of pages as everyone leafed through Dawn's work.

"Huh?" Willow prompted her friend. Buffy held up her paper to show the group a photo of a thirty-odd male with thick dark hair and a confident smile. He wore a T-shirt that showed off a tribal tattoo on one forearm.

"Daniel Mercer, reported missing nine months ago." Xander read from Dawn's bullet points beneath the image.

"He…looks familiar." Cat said, and Buffy nodded.

"Well, sure he does. He was on TV." Dawn said, picking out several other pages and laying them out on the coffee table. "Like these two. They were all friends and disappeared together without a trace so the story ran for a while. I couldn't find connections to any of the others. They're all different ages, both men and women, different backgrounds, some still missing, some found dead…" She sighed and stared at the pages. "But there's got to be something…"

"Unfortunately I doubt it's something we'll find in one sitting." Giles said, shuffling his papers back into a neat stack. "There's…a disturbingly large amount to go through." He frowned at the scattered pages. "And I don't think it's enough. We need to find a way to _find_ this monster and kill it."

"But at least it _might_ help us figure out what it is so we can find it and kill it." Dawn pointed out. "Right?"

"Right." Tara smiled at her. "You did good. It's a great idea."

"Mind if I keep these to read at home?" Giles asked Dawn, lifting his printouts. Dawn nodded.

"Sure."

"Some light bedtime reading." Xander quipped, folding his and stuffing them into the breast pocket of his shirt.

"Okay, so we'll just carry on researching and patrolling?" Buffy asked, unimpressed.

"Even with new information, it changes nothing. We'll be doing the same things we've been doing already." Kennedy said, raising one eyebrow as though daring the others to challenge the statement.

"It's better than nothing." Cat pointed out.

"Yeah, marginally." Buffy grumbled, feeling no optimism whatsoever. The demon was still out there, free to attack again.

Taunting her.


	16. Chapter 15

Saturdays were always busy for coffee from the moment the shop opened right up until the moment it closed. Business barely tapered off for the nine hours Dawn worked, keeping her rushed off her feet all day, making drink after drink. And so it was with great satisfaction that she finally whipped out the portafilters on the coffee machine, replaced the caps with ones that held fluid rather than filtered it and filled them with cleaning chemicals and shoved them back into the machine to start flushing the coffee out.

"No more coffee today." She said smugly.

"You might wanna pipe down." Casey said from beside her, starting to clean the coffee grinder. "Can't let the customers know we actually _want_ to go home on time." She rolled her eyes and inclined her head towards the people still grouped around tables drinking and eating. Lisa was stood impatiently in the doorway of the washroom, eager to load everything into the dishwasher.

"I want to leave on time tonight." Ryan said as he approached with a broom, sweeping up coffee grinds and crumbs and mini marshmallows and coffee beans. The debris of a normal day at work. "I've got a CSI marathon planned."

"Ooh, which one?" Casey asked, turning her back on the machine she was currently wiping down. Ryan grinned and paused his sweeping to lean on the broom and look at her.

"Vegas of course." He told her.

"What I wouldn't do to have an excuse to stick photos and stuff on a wall and join them up with different coloured strings and drawing pins…" Casey sighed wistfully. Dawn froze with her back to her friends, fingers hovering over the buttons to flush more water through the coffee machine.

Ryan laughed.

"Um, okay, but they don't do that you know? They've got computer programs and proper incident boards and…other cop stuff." He continued.

"I can dream." Casey replied.

Dawn hit the buttons automatically, starting the machine humming again as boiling water ran through the tubes and into the tank below. Her mind was whirring. Incident boards and connecting it all up and CSI and she had been half way there, hadn't she? Printing off the information about the victims. So far that seemed to have proven fruitless, but…What if she also combined it with the locations of where they lived? Or… _or_ where they were last seen? And if that too proved fruitless, what harm could it do?

Well…Besides causing more victims through the inability to find the demon and stop it…

"-llo? Dawn?"

Dawn blinked and turned towards the voice to find Casey staring at her in concern.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Sure, fine!" Dawn said. "Um…Excuse me." She turned and hurried off towards the washroom. Casey and Ryan exchanged a look at their friend's odd behaviour. Finding no explanation Ryan merely shrugged and continued to sweep the floor.

The washroom was a tiny box of a room that lead directly onto the main shop through a single free-swinging door. Inside was a sink, a dishwasher and a fridge. Two bins were tucked into one corner, the cleaning supplies in another. Large square trays of crockery that had already been run through the dishwasher sat on racks waiting to be put away. Another sat on the draining board of the sink, half filled with dirty plates and cups. Lisa was doing the rounds in the shop clearing more tables.

Out of sight of customers Dawn took her mobile phone from her trouser pocket and dialled her sister. Buffy still insisted on walking her home to keep her out of trouble in the dark months, but today Dawn had other plans.

"Hello?" She answered after a few rings. Dawn opened her mouth to greet her and was instantly cut off. "What's wrong? Has something happened? I'm on my way!"

"What?! Buffy! No!" Dawn yelped. "Everything's fine, I just-I had an idea, okay?"

"…An idea…?" Buffy asked slowly.

"Yes. Sheesh, overreact much?" Dawn grumbled.

"So sorry, I'm used to my sister getting into it with unholy beasts." Buffy said sarcastically.

"Oh, come on, Spike isn't that bad." Dawn teased. She cleared her throat as Buffy pointedly didn't answer. "Anyway, can you meet me at the library in about an hour?"

"What for?"

"Can't say, gotta go." Dawn said quickly and hung up as she heard her manager's voice outside the door. She stuffed her phone back into her pocket and turned to the trays of clean washing up, grabbing some cups just as the door swung open. She winced as she realized it was a fresh tray just out of the dishwasher. The china was still eye-wateringly hot and was burning her fingers. She smiled and rushed passed Jimmy as he entered and quickly dumped the cups on their respective shelves beneath the counter.

* * *

The library was almost empty when Dawn arrived, out of breath and red faced due to sprinting the short distance between the buildings. She made it with thirty minutes to spare before the library closed. That should be long enough, and if not she should be able to commandeer Willow's laptop at home to finish it off. The most important part required the library's A3 printer. She hurried to the back of the building where the computers were and dumped her bag next to a chair, dropped down onto it and logged onto the computer. She shrugged off her coat while waiting for the desktop to load, tapped her fingers impatiently against the keyboard. Once she was finally in she immediately launched the internet browser and her documents folder together, cursing the slow loading technology. She anxiously checked the time on the computer but time seemed to be moving slower than she thought. She breathed a sigh of relief and typed into the internet search bar, looking for a decent street map of the city. As that loaded she went into her documents folder and opened the research she had done the previous day on missing persons, scanning through the information and hoping it would help…

* * *

As Buffy walked towards the library she wondered what on Earth it was that the youngest Scooby was up to this time. She had been at the library yesterday too and had come home with a load of missing person reports, both open and closed. Could they expect more of the same? Or was this something different? Maybe Dawn had figured out what it was exactly that they were up against. That would be handy. But then, Buffy suspected, her sister would have said as much on the phone. That was another thing. Whatever it was that Dawn had thought up had excited her enough to call Buffy during work hours. Sure, it was to tell her to meet at the library instead of at work, but still…A text would have been enough.

Whatever it was, they needed it. The collected knowledge base held within Willow and Giles' books was less helpful than usual, and the patrols of Cat, Kennedy and herself had thrown up nothing. The creature they were hunting was like…like a demon ninja and Buffy hated it. Hated being outsmarted by a monster. She sighed as she approached the entrance to the library and strode inside.

"Tell me you've got something good." She murmured, eyes scanning for sign of Dawn. Seeing nothing among the shelves closest to her she moved further inside and eventually spied her sister sat hunched at a desk by herself with her back to Buffy.

"The library will be closing in five minutes."

Buffy glanced over to the help desk towards the voice, smiled and nodded.

"Got it." She replied. "Just collecting my sister." She pointed towards the teen and hurried over. Dawn had an A3 sheet of paper in front of her, a street map of part of the city printed on it, and was busily marking neat little crosses at various points in different coloured biros. The younger Summers looked up as she heard noise from behind her, twisted in her seat and grinned at Buffy.

"Hey!"

"Watcha doin'?" Buffy asked, peering curiously at the bits of paper spread around the desk. Dawn had taken some notes and was now transcribing them onto her map.

"It's a map." Dawn told her, holding up the A3 sheet.

"Thank you, Dawn. I would never have guessed it by myself." Buffy remarked drily. Dawn rolled her eyes and returned the page to the desk. She began to gather up her pens and paper, sliding it all carefully into the main compartment of her messenger bag.

"I was thinking about the victims and finding patterns between them." She explained as she packed. "There's no correlation between age, sex, appearances, whatever." She stood up and pulled on her coat, swung her bag across her chest. "So I started thinking. What if they're randomly selected victims, picked from the same _area_. I've been putting marks onto the map for last known locations and body dumps."

"No more Tempe Brennan novels for you!" Buffy told her, nudging her shoulder playfully as they began walking towards the exit.

"You won't be saying that when I've finished." Dawn told her smugly. " _I_ have found the demon's hunting grounds. Maybe. Um…It's pretty spread out and some people don't fit but…" She let the sentence hang. She didn't need to say any more. It was better than nothing. A lead even.

"Go Dawnie." Buffy told her proudly, leading the way out onto the street. It was growing dark, the temperature dropping rapidly. Streetlights hummed and shone orange in the gloom. Dawn zipped her coat up to the neck and stuffed her hands into her pockets to keep out the chill.

"You say that now, but wait until you see the size of the area you need to search." She said, almost bitterly as the excitement of her discovery faded with thoughts of the practicalities of the matter. They didn't know a thing about the demon, didn't know how it operated. The disappearances and bodies occurred within a large area, but clustered enough for Dawn to realize it was an area in which the creature mostly stuck to.

"Okay, well, how about you give me and Kennedy an idea of where to look and we can start tonight on patrol while you finish your map thing?" Buffy said. "And if we find it I promise we won't attack it without knowing fully what we're up against." Conventional methods of attack had proven useless when she and Cat bumped into the creature the first time round. She did not want a round two without knowing how to at least incapacitate it.

Dawn nodded slowly as she considered it. Buffy would be out patrolling anyway, but at least she could vaguely point the slayers in the direction she suspected their target was prowling.

"So, you'd be scouting out the area?" She asked.

"Yup. Mission Impossible style." Buffy said. Dawn snorted.

"Sounds about right."

* * *

Dinner was on the table when they got home, and Buffy and Kennedy left the house straight after bolting it down. Dawn sat at the now empty dinner table with her map and notes spread out in front of her. Willow and Tara bustled around the kitchen tidying up. She could hear them chatting and laughing as she marked a neat red cross on the city map, then crossed the corresponding information out in her notebook. Dawn sighed and sat back in her chair, hearing more laughter from the kitchen. There were only ten more points to find on her map. She put the cap on her pen and tossed it onto the table, shoved away her research. She could finish it tomorrow after work. The slayers were already out patrolling, a few more marks on the map wouldn't benefit anyone currently. She pushed back her chair and stood up, making her way towards the kitchen to investigate, and frowned as Willow darted passed the doorway.

"Hey, guys, what're you-" She spluttered as she received a face full of warm soapy water and heard Tara gasp.

"HAH! Too slow!" Willow announced smugly.

"Um…" Dawn wiped bubbles from her face and stared at the redhead.

"Oh, Dawn! I thought you were doing your map?"

"Sorry, Dawn…" Tara said sheepishly, approaching the teen with a dry towel in hand. Dawn took in the sodden appearance of the Wiccans and the little puddles of bubbles on the floor.

"Wow, guys. Maybe I should do the dishes?" She teased, taking the towel from Tara.

"Tara started it." Willow insisted.

"Oh, really?" Tara replied, eyebrows raised.

"I'm going to finish the map thing tomorrow." Dawn said, wiping bubbles out of her hair. "Wanna watch a movie?"

"Sure!" Willow said. "Go pick a movie. We'll…fix the mess we just made fixing the previous mess…"

* * *

The Eastern horizon was growing light as Buffy trudged up to the front door of her home, keys in hand. She slowly and carefully slid the key into the lock, taking care not to make any noise that may rouse sleeping occupants, and twisted. The door swung inwards soundlessly and she crept inside, easing the door shut behind her and wincing at the click from the lock re-engaging. It sounded like a canon blast in the silence of early morning.

As she sat on the stairs to take off her boots she noticed a flickering blue glow coming from the living room. She shrugged off her jacket as she stood and hung it over the bannister, then crept into the living room, navigating the darkened house with ease.

Kennedy lay sprawled across the sofa, half tucked under a blanket with a bowl of crisps balanced on her stomach. The TV was on, playing a muted film, bathing the room in an eerie flickering light.

"Morning." The dark haired slayer whispered, sliding upright and offering Buffy her bowl of snacks. Buffy shook her head, stayed standing in the doorway to the room. "Guessing you didn't find anything?"

"Dusted some vamps. No demon. You?"

"Nada." Kennedy sighed. "Gave up about an hour ago and came back here. Figured our demon's hiding elsewhere."

"Yeah…" Buffy grumbled.

"We'll think of something." Kennedy said, sensing the blonde slayer's dejection. Buffy nodded and started to leave the room.

"I'm going to bed." She announced.

"Night." Kennedy called after her, and settled back down to watch the rest of the film. In silence, without subtitles, she had no clue what was going on.

Buffy expertly made her way up to her bedroom without so much as a floorboard squeaking. Feeling somewhat put out by that night's fruitless patrol she began to undress in the dark, carelessly tossing aside her clothes to deal with in the morning. She pulled on her pyjamas and climbed into bed and lay staring up at the ceiling as the gloom grew lighter with the approaching sunrise.

She had thought with both Kennedy and herself covering a wide search area they might at least come across some sign of the monster. No such luck. Not even a slight tingle of the slayer sense. Without a pattern to follow they were blindly looking in the hope they might eventually cross paths. A hunt without a trail.

They needed to think up another approach.

She gave a heavy sigh and rolled onto her side, closing her eyes and willing herself to sleep.


	17. Chapter 16

"Me and Tara are going on a date!" Willow announced excitedly.

It was Sunday evening and Buffy was just exiting the bathroom in a billowing cloud of warm steam. Her hair was tucked into a towel turban and she had pulled on her pink fluffy bathrobe. She paused in the hallway and blinked at the redhead, who was bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"A spontaneous date!" She continued. "'Cause they're the best kind!"

Buffy promptly pouted at her.

"Xander had a date, now you've got a date. I bet Cat and Dawn will get a date… I want a date!" She grumbled. Willow stopped bouncing to regard her friend curiously.

"I don't think Cat does a whole lot of dating…"

"She will."

"Okay, well, um…I don't know if you've noticed but we're kind of in a relationship?"

"You and Cat?" Buffy asked with a frown and Willow's eyes bugged.

"What? No! Me and Tara!" She cried. Buffy paused.

"Oh…Yeah?" She knew that there must be some kind of point to be made.

"Yeah. And in relationships you go on dates. And, hey! We have mini pizzas in the freezer!" Willow flapped her hands enthusiastically at the slayer.

"Mini pizzas…" Buffy repeated, totally lost.

"Yes! You could invite the others round and have a little party with games and stuff! Kind of like a date. But not a date because you're not dating and Giles might come round and Dawn will be here so that would be weird, but-" Buffy cut her off with a hug.

"I love you, Will."

"Um, I love you too, Buff, but you can't go on a date with me…" Willow replied, putting her arms around her.

"I know that, doofus." Buffy stepped back and smiled up at her. "I just mean, you're trying to cheer me up and I'm being a huge grump and _God_ when did I get so needy?" She rolled her eyes at herself. Willow shrugged and grinned at her.

"It's okay. You work all day and slay all night and have no fun distractions."

Boy was that the truth… Buffy shook her head and stepped aside, motioning Willow into the bathroom.

"Go, get ready. Don't want to keep Tara waiting." She said. Willow beamed at her and bounced into the bathroom. Buffy heard the door close behind her as she entered her bedroom.

Willow's idea of inviting the others round for the evening sounded like a fun distraction from the not so fun prospect of hunting down their latest monster.

"Hmm…" She sat on the edge of her bed and pulled the towel from her head as she reached across to her bedside cabinet and picked up her phone, firing off a couple of one-handed texts.

* * *

The sound of the doorbell ringing through the house was almost immediately followed by the sound of Dawn thundering down the stairs to answer it revealing Giles and Xander stood on the front step, eyebrows raised, having heard the teen rush through the house.

"Yay, you made it!" She exclaimed.

"We did." Xander nodded, stepping inside as Dawn moved away to let them in. "You weren't expecting us to turn down a Summers gaming night now, were ya?" He wagged a faux reprimanding finger beneath her nose. Dawn grinned and batted his hand away, closing the door behind Giles.

"Guess not." She replied. "We're going to play Monopoly!"

"You want to play the game renowned for destroying friendships?" Giles asked.

"Yup!" Dawn said, and glanced into the living room before leaning closer to the two men. "Let Buffy win…" She whispered.

Xander snorted.

"No way! This man is going to own _everything_!" He jabbed a thumb at his chest and strutted into the living room, where Kennedy and Buffy were setting the board up on the coffee table. "Evening ladies. Prepare you behinds for a sound whoopin'."

Kennedy and Buffy paused what they were doing to look up at him as Xander halted awkwardly in the doorway.

"Let me rephrase that…"

"I beg you don't…" Buffy said, wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah, I don't have enough metaphorical spades for you to keep digging that hole." Kennedy agreed, sorting the property cards into their respective groups.

"Make yourself useful and go get the snacks from the kitchen." Buffy told him, going back to laying out everyone's starting funds.

Xander fled the room to do as Buffy asked.

"What was that all about?" Dawn asked, bringing Giles into the living room, glancing back the way Xander had gone.

"Oh, nothing." Buffy told her.

"Xander being Xander." Kennedy said wisely. That seemed all the answer Giles and Dawn needed as they both took their places around the table.

Xander returned with two plates of cooked mini pizzas (one in each hand) and a bag of chips held in his teeth, followed by Tara bringing two large bottles of coke and some glasses. He sat carefully on the floor and dropped the packet of chips into his lap.

"What's with the pizzas?" He asked Buffy.

"Willow's idea." She told him.

"They look tasty." Dawn said, grabbing one before he could even put the plates down.

Tara left the glasses and bottles standing beside the table and straightened, smiling as Xander thanked her for the assistance.

"Me and Willow are going now." She told Buffy.

"Okay, have fun." Buffy said. "And be careful of the demon! And the vampires. And don't be late."

"Sure, mom." Tara teased her with a sloped smile. Buffy rolled her eyes.

"You know what I mean. It's dangerous out right now."

"It's dangerous to go alone! Here, take this." Xander said, holding up a single Dorito from the packet he had opened and set about demolishing. He grinned at Tara who simply gave him a bewildered look while taking the offered chip. "Oh, come on, am I the only one that's played Zelda?"

"I played one!" Dawn announced.

"Which one?" Xander asked.

"Uh….The one with the…ocarina?"

"Here. You may have a chip." Xander kindly offered one for her. Dawn took it and crunched on it happily, looking pleased with herself.

"Hey, you coming?" Willow poked her head round the door to look for Tara.

"Yup." Tara made her way over, handing over the chip to Willow.

"Ooh, thanks!" The redhead grabbed it and ate it and Xander sighed.

"You ate your weapon…." He said, shaking his head woefully. Willow made a confused noise in his direction.

"Never mind, come on, let's go." Tara said, ushering her girlfriend out of the room. "Bye, guys!"

A chorus of goodbyes followed them, cut off by the front door closing.

"You are such a nerd." Kennedy told Xander.

"A pirate nerd." Xander replied, tapping his eye patch. " _Captain_ nerd, if you will."

"Which I won't."

"Suit yourself."

"Dawn, roll the dice." Buffy said. Good natured or no, that argument could go on a while.

Dawn licked her fingers clean of pizza grease and rubbed her hand on her jeans, scooped up the dice, and tossed them onto the board.

"Twelve! Yes!" Dawn eagerly lunged forward, grabbed her token, and moved it around the board.

* * *

Willow and Tara were sat in the back row of a mostly deserted cinema screen. Willow had maintained innocence throughout Tara's teasing about booking tickets for the back row. They were quiet now, sitting in the semi-gloom and eating popcorn that Willow had insisted on buying despite having just come from a large meal at one of the many restaurants at the complex. Willow glanced at her wristwatch.

"Trailers should start soon." She whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" Tara asked playfully.

"I don't know…" One other couple had joined them for the movie, and they were way down near the front. They were talking quietly amongst themselves and but for that small sound Willow and Tara could have been alone.

Tara watched Willow a moment as the redhead thoughtfully chewed on a handful of popcorn, green eyes watching the regular adverts on the big screen.

"Do you know anything about the movie?" She asked after a moment. Willow turned her head to grin at Tara and shrugged.

"Some romantic comedy." She said. "I didn't think the horror would be conductive to a relaxing date." Tara gave a sloped smile.

"But think about all those sneaky cuddles you could get when I hide from the scary bits…"

Willow snorted, reaching for another handful of popcorn.

"You _know_ I jump more than you." She said. "Besides, don't I get sneaky cuddles anyway?"

"Maybe."

"Do they have to be sneaky?"

"No."

The lights dimmed, drawing their attention to the screen as the trailers began playing.

"How do you think the monopoly game is going?" Willow whispered after a moment, knowing how games could quickly get out of hand when her friends were playing.

"I'm sure they're having a great time." Tara assured her.

* * *

"You're cheating!" Xander cried, pointing accusingly at Buffy, who simply gaped at him.

"I am not!" She defended haughtily.

Giles, Dawn, and Kennedy had already been bankrupted as Xander and Buffy snatched up the majority of the properties around the board. Dawn had been sent to jail several times, much to the amusement of the others, while Kennedy and Giles kept landing on other people's streets and paying fines. Buffy and Xander continued to chase each other round the board but had accumulated vast sums of money so that the others sat bored watching them play and swap handfuls of colourful money.

"Are too!" Xander insisted. "You should be bankrupt by now!"

"So…I'm cheating because you're not winning?" Buffy asked. "Great…"

"Nobody is cheating." Giles attempted to placate them.

"Kennedy's paying you under the table!" Xander continued.

"Hey, I'm a respectable banker." Kennedy replied, arms folded over her chest.

"Not something you hear every day…" Dawn commented.

"We've been playing Monopoly for long enough." Giles interrupted as Xander opened his mouth to speak. "Let's play something else."

"Like what…?" Buffy asked him.

"Something you can't cheat at." Xander grumbled.

"That's quite enough." Giles told him. "You're behaving like children."

"No we're not!" Xander whined, and Buffy pouted at Giles.

"That's not helping your case." Giles told them.

"Can we play Cluedo?" Dawn asked.

"If we must." Giles said, feeling a lot like a father trying to keep bickering siblings under control. "And Buffy and Xander can play on a team together."

Cluedo kept the group entertained for another hour, this time without incident. Working together Buffy and Xander managed to solve the murder, even throwing each other a high five as they revealed the cards.

"Dammit, I was so close!" Dawn sighed.

"I don't think I'm cut out to be a detective." Kennedy announced, throwing down her cards onto the board and stretching her arms above her head as she arched her back, working out the stiffness from sitting on the floor and hunching over the table.

"I'd best be off." Giles said reluctantly. "I have work in the morning…"

"We all do, G-man." Xander said, scraping everyone's cards together and putting them into a neat stack.

"I don't." Dawn said smugly.

"Except Dawn."

"And me."

"Except Dawn and Kennedy."

Buffy glanced up at the wall clock to check the time. Almost eleven. Willow and Tara would be leaving the cinema soon.

"What time does Cat finish work tonight?" She asked.

"Eleven I think?" Dawn replied.

"Maybe I should ask her to meet Willow and Tara…"

"Buffy…." Dawn groaned. "Don't be datus interruptus…"

"They're more than capable." Giles agreed, helping to tidy away the game.

"I guess…" Buffy conceded. "Maybe I should go on patrol…"

"Buffy! Relax." Dawn scolded. "Everything is fine."

"You say that now, but what if that demon chows down on someone?" Buffy replied with a frown.

"You've been out patrolling every night this week." Xander said fairly. "You can't be expected to be there every time something happens. You need a night to yourself every once in a while."

Buffy held up her hands in defeat.

"This is me, staying put." She promised.

"Good." Dawn said, and thrust the board games at her sister. "You can put these away, then."

* * *

Willow shuddered as she left the warmth of the cinema and felt the chill of the late night air seeping already through her layers of clothes. She stuffed her hands into her coat pockets and hunched her shoulders about her ears to stay warm. It wasn't quite cold enough for her breath to mist, but still, the wind was cold enough to knife straight through warm winter coats and cardigans.

"That's a shock to the system…" She commented.

"Do you want my scarf?" Tara asked, already unwinding the soft navy wool from about her neck. Willow shook her head profusely.

"No, no, then you'll be cold." She protested, shuffling over to Tara without taking her hands out of her pockets and nudging her shoulder against Tara's to try and stop her. "Besides, I'll warm up soon. It was just all toasty in there and out here it's kind of like a fridge…"

Tara's lips quirked up on one side as she tucked her scarf back inside her coat. She threaded one arm through Willow's and steered them towards the bus stop.

"At least it's not raining." She said.

"Hey, don't jinx it." Willow bumped their hips together playfully and Tara rolled her eyes good naturedly.

"I'm pretty sure that's _not_ how it works, but okay." She replied, pulling them into the small shelter offered by the bus stop. Three walls and a roof made of glass and steel, it didn't do much to keep out the elements but at least the wind was mostly off them now. Willow stood as close as possible in an effort to share body heat, her back pressed to Tara's front. Tara looped her arms around Willow's waist and they both watched the road.

Minutes crawled slowly by.

Gone eleven O'clock at night on a Sunday there wasn't much in the way of traffic. The occasional car whooshed passed, headlights bright white cones of light in the gloom.

"I don't understand." Willow said as she scrutinized the bus timetable in the neon orange tint thrown out by a nearby street lamp. She pressed a finger against the grimy glass protecting the paper, following lines of text and numbers. "There should have been a bus ten minutes ago. I Googled it and everything."

"I don't think it's coming." Tara told her. Willow looked back at her girlfriend apologetically. "It's okay, we can walk back."

"Walk?" Willow scrunched her nose in distaste. "Or get a taxi?"

"That would be expensive at this time of night." Tara said with a shake of her head. "Come on." She reached for Willow's hand, linked their fingers. "It's not that far. I'll make us some cocoa when we get in."

"Okay." Willow sighed, allowing herself to be dragged out of the shelter. "I can't believe Google lied to me!"

"I don't think it lied…" Tara said in amusement. "I think maybe the bus got cancelled or something. Don't worry, Google is still loyal to you."

"Buffy's going to kill us if she finds out we walked, by the way." Willow looked sideways at Tara who nodded seriously, knowing exactly what Buffy was worried about.

"I know. We won't tell her." She said. "But I think we'll be safe here. Most of the attacks Dawn pinned on the demon didn't happen in busy areas."

Willow looked around them at the empty streets, the closed shops and dark buildings rising high on either side of the four way. Sure, every few minutes a car would whiz by, but…

"I'm not so sure this counts as a busy area right now…"

Tara shot her a look. She knew Willow's logical mind wasn't countering the statement through nerves, but through a literal assessment of the area.

"What?" Willow protested. "I'm just saying! We're fine walking. I'll be quiet now." She adjusted her handbag on her shoulder, missing Tara's smile as she tried to hide a chuckle. "Did you like the movie?"

Tara grinned at her.

"I thought you were being quiet?" She teased, eliciting a Willow pout. "I liked the movie." She said honestly. "It was fun and cute. Perfect date material." Willow beamed at her, teasing forgotten.

"Really?" She asked, and Tara nodded.

"I'll have to leave you to organise dates more often."

Willow opened her mouth to speak, stopped when she heard the hollow bump and rattle of a tin can against concrete.

"What was that?" She asked, head turning sharply towards the sound.

They had made their way into a residential area now, rows of two storey houses lining each side of the street, cars parked on drives or pulled up to the curb. Her eyes were drawn towards the impenetrable gloom of an alley way between two houses across the road. The glow of the streetlights faltered at the entrance.

"Someone's trash, I think." Tara said, pausing as Willow halted to eye up the shadows suspiciously. She tugged on the redhead's elbow. "Come on, it's getting late. We need to get back. We both have work in the morning."

"I know." Willow turned away from the alley to look up at Tara. "I guess I'm just paranoid."

Tara looked at her with concern. She herself felt confident they could get home without incident, but if Willow was uncomfortable…

"We could get a taxi if you want? I have money?" She offered.

"No, it's fine, really-" She cut off as that same rattle sounded again. Hollow, metallic, in motion. The stillness of the city amplified it. Tara peered round Willow in the direction of the alley as Willow turned to face it, feeling a faint spike of adrenaline.

Willow reached into her bag and withdraw a wooden stake. The movement caught Tara's gaze and she blinked.

"Willow…?"

Willow moved herself square in front of Tara, holding the stake firmly in one fist, slightly raised in front of her. She saw luminous yellow eyes reflecting back the light from the lamps, heard the noise again. An empty drink can rolled out of the darkness and onto the pavement where it halted its course against the raised edge of one concrete slab. Then the creature struck. A lithe black shadow pounced from within the alley, landed on the can and meowed.

"Wow…" Tara remarked drily as watched the cat scrabble with its toy.

"Uh…" Willow paused, then hastily stuffed the stake back into her bag, embarrassed now.

"It's a good job you don't get screened for concealed weapons at the cinema." Tara motioned to the bag.

"It's a precaution!" Willow defended herself. Tara watched Willow for a moment, her intense gaze causing the redhead to squirm.

"You put yourself in front of me."

"Huh?" Willow frowned.

"Like a human shield."

"Oh…"

"Don't do that."

"I don't want you to get hurt." Willow insisted.

"Well…ditto!" Tara said emphatically. Willow gave her a determined look in response. Tara held it for all of three seconds before melting. She reached up and tugged playfully at the ends of Willow's hair. "Thank you for saving me from the kitty." She said. Willow rolled her eyes and turned to continue their walk home.

"Something else we can't tell Buffy about!" She said.

"Oh…I don't know…" Tara said with a sloped smile, falling into step beside Willow. "I think she'd be very interested to hear about that…"


	18. Chapter 17

Willow scrubbed at her weary eyes with the heels of both hands in an effort to alleviate the tired itch she felt. She had gone to bed much later than usual Sunday night and had awoken that Monday morning feeling drained.

"Definitely need an early night." She murmured to herself as she made her way into the living room, over to the sofa. Behind her from the kitchen she could hear the clink of china as Tara and Dawn tidied up after dinner.

She flopped down onto the cushions and stared reluctantly at the untidy stacks of books on the coffee table in front of her. Parchment pages and cracked leather spines, already she felt her mind scrabbling for excuses to not pick up a book and peruse the pages.

"Leave it."

Willow glanced up to see Buffy stood watching her, leaning with one shoulder against the door frame and thumbs hooked into the pockets of her denim skinny jeans. The blonde haired slayer pushed off from the frame and crossed the room to sit beside her friend. "Kennedy and Dawn have already looked through some of it today."

"Dawn did." Kennedy said, following Buffy in to sit cross legged on the floor across the table opposite them. "I was out looking for apartments to rent. And jobs."

Buffy rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated gesture at Kennedy.

"I've already told you you're welcome to stay here."

"It's getting crowded here. I need my own place." Kennedy replied, leaving unspoken the other reason for wanting her own home. That she had no reason to stay, now that she was no longer with Willow. Brown eyes sought the dusty pages of books left open on the table, in case her friends somehow divined that reason from her expression.

"At least stay here until you find a job." Buffy pressed. "Don't you need steady income to get your own place?"

"Makes sense." Kennedy nodded, idly flicking through pages without committing enough to lift the book. She flipped the cover shut and leaned back on her hands, looking up at Buffy. "Shall we get going then?" She asked.

"You're patrolling?" Willow said, looking between the slayers.

"Yup." Buffy said.

"Aren't you supposed to wait at least half an hour between eating and exercise?" The red head asked. Buffy quirked an eyebrow.

"Slayers digest fast." Kennedy told Willow, while patting her stomach. Willow looked about to dispute that a moment, then thought better of it. Slayers had accelerated healing, and boosted strength. Nothing about them made sense.

"I'm pretty sure you're winding me up, but okay." She said to Kennedy.

"Don't pretend you didn't flat out sprint to the car this morning right after eating waffles. I saw you." Buffy grinned at Willow as she stood up.

"That's different." Willow replied. "And it was just a question." Buffy laughed as she left the room to change for patrol.

"Your brain is weird." Kennedy announced, and smirked as she climbed to her feet and followed Buffy out, leaving Willow pouting on the sofa.

A moment later Tara paused in the doorway holding two mugs of steaming tea, to give Willow an amused look.

"She said my brain is weird." She told Tara, who nodded and entered the room.

"Well." She said, carefully elbowing books out of the way so she could leave the mugs down on the coffee table and sit on the sofa beside Willow. "I like your brain. It has lots of fun ideas." She tickled playfully behind Willow's ear. Willow shied away while laughing and caught Tara's hand.

"Ugh, did I walk in on something weird?" Dawn asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Yes. Tickling is an elaborate Wiccan mating ritual." Willow told her deadpan.

"Okay." The teen dropped onto the sofa beside Tara and tore open a bag of crisps. She offered one to the Wiccans, then started eating when they both declined.

"Dawn, we _just_ had dinner, how are you still hungry?" Willow asked.

"Oh, I'm not." Dawn said around a mouthful of food. "This goes into my separate snack stomach where there's always room."

"That's not very healthy…" Tara replied, leaning forwards and picking up her mug of tea. She curled both hands around it, resting the base against one knee as she leaned back into the cushions.

"No, it's okay." Dawn assured them. "Fleeing for my life every few weeks helps with that. Burns a lot of calories." She grinned.

"I never thought of it that way before…" Willow said, clearly considering just how many calories fear burned off.

"Don't get any ideas." Tara warned her good-humouredly.

"No ideas." Willow promised. "Just happy to now have an excuse for post slayage snacks." She looked innocently at Tara.

"I'm good with those kinds of excuses." Dawn told her. "Like, I can have blueberry muffins for breakfast because they contain fruit and that's one of my five a day."

"And blueberries are a great source of antioxidants." Willow pointed out fairly.

"Exactly!" Dawn grinned at her.

"I despair." Tara told them, though not without a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. Dawn grinned and picked up the TV remote. She hit the standby button and channel hopped until she found what she was looking for and settled down to watch comedy show re-runs. Willow reached for her tea, deeming it cool enough now to drink, and sipped while watching. At the end of the episode she stood and stretched out her spine, arms held high before swinging back down to her sides.

"I'm going to have a quick shower." She announced.

"Try not to fall asleep." Tara said, and grinned as Willow rolled her eyes and trudged out of the room. The stairs creaked as she made her way up to the bathroom.

"Who falls asleep in the _shower_?" Dawn snorted, and Tara's grin widened.

"Oh, believe me, I have no idea, but she's done it before." She said. Dawn looked at her suspiciously.

"Really?" She asked. Tara nodded, picking up the now empty mugs and Dawn's crumpled crisp packet. The pipes hummed as the shower was turned on upstairs and the water began to heat up.

"Oh yes." She replied, getting to her feet and taking the things through to the kitchen.

"Huh." Was all Dawn said as she leaned back into the sofa watching adverts try to convince her she wanted fast food and vacuum cleaners. Tara was back by the end of the commercial break, and sat on the sofa with her legs curled beneath her.

"Haven't you seen all of these before?" She asked, watching the opening credits of the show.

"Probably." Dawn admitted, not taking her eyes from the screen. "But they're still funny." Tara smiled and had to agree. She had seen the episode before but it still amused her.

"It's definitely relaxing." She said. "Though…I spend all day at work staring at a screen and going through books to then come home and relax by staring at a screen and going through books."

"Yeah, but at least it's by choice at home." Dawn looked sideways at her with a grin. Tara tipped her head and shrugged her shoulders, conceding the point.

The water shut off upstairs and a moment later Willow returned wearing cartoon patterned pyjamas and a blue bathrobe with a moons and stars print. Her hair was still damp, and slightly fluffy from where she had towel dried it. She sat between Tara and Dawn looking thoughtful.

"Something up, Will?" Tara asked curiously.

"No, I was just thinking about the demon in the shower." She said vaguely. Dawn pulled a face at her.

"You have weird shower thoughts."

"Should I be jealous?" Tara asked mischievously.

"No, just…We've been searching all over for it. Why can't we find it? Two slayers and a reaper, all these books…" She waved a hand at the coffee table, laden with books from their Scooby library. The pooled collection of Giles, Willow and Tara.

"To be fair, Buffy, Kennedy, and Cat aren't primarily searching for it. They're doing general patrols and hoping to bump into it." Tara said.

"But we do have a lot of books." Dawn said, looking at the stacks in front of her. "You'd think we'd have covered every demon _ever_. What if it's a new type of demon?" She looked at the Wiccans sat next to her. "Can they do that? Evolve or…Whatever?" Willow frowned at her, an idea attempting to form. "I mean, these books are old, what if we _don't_ have every type of demon? Scientists are finding new bugs and stuff all the-"

"Wait, say that again?" Willow interrupted. Dawn paused uncertainly.

"Bugs…?"

"No, no…A new type of demon…" Willow sat lost in thought. That hadn't pinged in her brain, not really. But something had. "Different type of demon…?"

A bemused Dawn peered around the redhead to look at Tara who shrugged and shook her head in an 'I don't know'. They could almost see the wheels turning inside Willow's head.

"Not a demon!" Willow cried suddenly.

"Okay!" Dawn yelped, surprised by the outburst.

"We've been so focussed on it being a _demon_ what if it's not a demon?" Willow asked excitedly.

"Well, it's not exactly a ghost or a vampire is it?" Dawn replied.

"It sounds a lot like a demon." Tara said, trying the idea for size.

"And vampires sound human until they show us otherwise." Willow said, words coming faster as her mind worked. "There are so many magical creatures and supernatural beings. Sure, we're almost always up against demons and the occasional god. Spirits are easy enough to figure out but I was reading last night-for fun, not research, sorry-and I was going through our folklore books and what if it's some kind of mythical thing that's not demonic?"

"Like…a pixie?" Dawn asked warily.

"No, not a pixie." Willow rolled her eyes. "Okay, well, yeah, like a pixie, except I'm pretty sure this isn't a pixie, but what if it's something _like_ a pixie?"

"A fairy?" Dawn asked, and grimaced. Willow shot her an exasperated look.

"I think I see where this is going…" Tara said.

"I'm going to get the folklore books!" Willow announced and shot to her feet and out of the room before the others could reply. Dawn whimpered.

"More reading?"

"We'll start tomorrow." Tara promised her, feeling as unenthusiastic as the teen sounded about the prospect of more research. "With fresh minds and with the others on board."

"Why can't Google sort the supernatural properly?" Dawn grumbled. "I can't tell you _how_ many times I've come across vampires sparkling being told as _fact_." Tara hid a giggle.

"Well, myths and legends and folklore tend to start out with a small truth somewhere along the lines." She said. "Maybe tomorrow that can be your job? Look up local stories online and see if there's something useful there?"

Willow thundering back down the stairs brought their attention to the doorway as the redhead bounded back into the living room with an armful of books, looking very pleased with herself. Tara hastily cleared a space on the coffee table.

"Why do we have so many books?" Dawn asked.

"Knowledge is the first weapon in the fight against darkness!" Willow told her, dumping the pile with a loud thud in the space made by Tara.

"Is that your inner Watcher talking?" Dawn teased.

"Giles would be proud." Tara grinned. Willow flopped back into her space between the two.

"I got everything I thought would be useful." She explained, eyeing her new stack of books. "I just hope I'm right…"

* * *

Wood crunched through bone and sinew, burying itself in an immobile heart. It paused a beat before being jerked free and the vampire exploded into a cloud of ash, scattering on the wind. Kennedy stepped out of her fighter's stance and glanced around the cemetery, tapping her wooden stake against her thigh. She couldn't sense any danger lurking in amongst the headstones and tombs, though any vampire with even a modicum of sense would be underground by now. The sun was beginning to rise, the sky already lightening, shadows lifting. She had been lucky to catch the straggler, way out on the suburbs.

She tucked the stake into the waistband at the back of her jeans and made her way through the cemetery, vaulting the tall iron railings that enclosed the large grounds and landing in a crouch on the pavement on the other side. A neat row of semis rose up around her and marched down the street, tidy front gardens identical in the gloom. Cars parked on drives and against the curb gleamed bright and new beneath humming streetlamps that were fast becoming unnecessary as sleeping city awoke and soft grey light on the horizon pushed back the darkness.

Kennedy had walked half the night and was sure she had covered almost every square inch of their demon's hunting grounds, even branching out further afield, but had found nothing to report. She was beginning to wonder if it was some kind of shapeshifter, revealing its true face only in the moment of feeding. She came across shady looking humans every night while patrolling. Maybe she should start following them and see what happened… She sighed and shook her head, casting aside the thought as soon as the idea surfaced, and picked up her pace, eager to be home in the warm. Maybe a nice cup of coffee. The others would be up soon anyway, the boiling kettle would only wake them an hour early. If it woke them at all.

Throughout the long walk back her senses were on high alert, searching for any signs of supernatural disturbance though she knew it was futile. She didn't let her guard down until the moment she turned into the street of the Summers/Rosenberg/Maclay residence. She unzipped her jacket pocket and took out her door key. She had kept it throughout her travels as Buffy had insisted she would always be welcome back, and she was glad. It felt good to be able to let herself into the house using her own key, like she belonged somewhere. She carefully slid the key into the lock and turned it slowly. The lock disengaged with a muted click and she nudged the door open, pulling the key free with barely a sound. She closed the door and glanced back into the dark house, searching for signs that Buffy was already home. Spying the coat hung up on its hook in the hallway, the shoes tucked against the wall beneath, Kennedy double locked the door and drew the chain across, then kicked off her boots and hung up her jacket beside Buffy's. She made her way into the kitchen and flicked on the kettle, picked a mug from the draining board and dumped a spoonful of instant coffee into it, then rummaged in the cupboards for snacks while the water boiled.

She scored a sharing sized bag of Doritos and carried that and her mug of coffee through to the living room, elbowing the light switch on her way in to turn the lights on. The lightening sky outside had yet to penetrate the gloom of the sleeping house.

Dropping onto the sofa she saw a new stack of books had been added to the pile on the coffee table. She rolled her eyes, tearing open the bag of Doritos using one hand and her teeth, the other hand balancing her mug on one knee. While it was true their ridiculously large arcane library hadn't helped that much in the week they had been attempting to discover the nature of their mystery demon, Kennedy doubted adding more books to their reading list could help that much. She tipped her head on one side to read the spines, one eyebrow climbing higher and higher with each new title. _Myths and Legends of North America_ , _Unexplained Phenomena_ , _A History of Unnaturalness, Folklore: Fact or Fiction?_

"Wow…" She murmured, reaching for a folklore book that had been left face down on the coffee table. It was a battered old book the size of the average novel with a plain green cover, the dust jacket long since lost. The pages felt dry and brittle, smelled of age and dust. It seemed to be as much story book as encyclopaedia of old tales. Kennedy left her coffee down on the table to leaf through the pages, looking at intricate line drawings of all manner of beast, reading the odd paragraph of urban legends and ghost stories passed down through word of mouth. Sasquatch, headless horseman, lake monsters, swamp-women, witches, hell hounds, wendigo-

"Hey."

Kennedy looked up at the soft voice to see Buffy leaning against the doorframe, eyes foggy with sleep. Her hair was tousled and she wore a dressing gown over her pajamas to keep out the morning chill.

"Hey." Kennedy replied, glancing down at her wristwatch then back up at Buffy. "Did I wake you?" There was still at least an hour before the others even had to think about getting up for work.

Buffy nodded and shrugged.

"I heard coffee?" she asked hopefully. "Or…At least I heard the kettle." She eyed up Kennedy's mug, steam still curling upwards from the drink inside.

"Yeah." Kennedy said and motioned towards the kitchen. "Water's still warm enough to make a drink." Buffy pushed off from the frame and disappeared and Kennedy looked back down at the book she held and turned the page. She stared at the image glaring back up at her. The artist had depicted an elongated humanoid monster, impossibly gaunt with eyes that appeared to glow. Kennedy had spent all week looking for similar images. She flicked the page back to find the title of the legend, turned back to the picture.

"I really don't know how anyone can live without coffee. I can't even function without-"

"Look." Kennedy interrupted Buffy as the blonde slayer returned to the room with both hands around her mug of coffee. Buffy stopped talking and blinked at Kennedy, who raised the book and held the pages open so Buffy could see the picture. Buffy's eyes widened in recognition and Kennedy knew she had found the right thing.

"What is it?" Buffy asked, hurrying over to sit beside Kennedy and look at the book.

"Wendigo." Kennedy replied. "It's the monster, isn't it?" She looked sideways at Buffy, who continued to stare down at the book.

"Yeah." She murmured. "I mean…It's different but…The same."

"There's not much information here." Kennedy said, turning the pages. "Mostly speculation."

"We have a name." Buffy said. "And I'm pretty sure that's it. Will you look into it?" She looked up at Kennedy. "I know you hate research but…"

"I'm home and you're not." Kennedy nodded. "Sure. I'll see if I can get Dawn to help."

"Thanks." Buffy said, sighing in what sounded like relief. They knew the name of the beast. That made things easier. They could be hunting it by the time she got home from work. "I'll call a Scooby meeting later. We can figure things out then, get out and get rid of it."

Kennedy saluted her.

* * *

Dawn's eyes ached with the strain of staring at the glare of a laptop screen for most of the day. She leaned her head back against the sofa and rubbed the knuckles of both hands against her eyes, heaved a sigh. The gang would assemble soon, meeting after work and hoping for details on their newly named beastie. Like exactly what it was and how to beat it. Those were questions she still had no answers for despite her best efforts on Willow's laptop. Kennedy had started out by scouring the books, then grown bored and left to prowl the town in search of wendigo hidey holes. Dawn sighed and closed the lid of Willow's laptop and left it beside herself on the sofa. She chucked her notepad onto the ever present piles of books on the coffee table and stood up, stretching out her spine. She had taken down the cork board in her bedroom and brought it downstairs to the living room where she had propped it up against the TV and covered it in notes and pictures, building their 'case'. She had added a sheet of paper with a crude sketch of the wendigo in the bottom right corner. She had left space beneath the image to write in any useful information, though she now felt that had been a bit too optimistic.

Thankfully Giles would be turning up soon. He could help pick through the pages of notes she had made and pull fact from fiction. He always seemed good at that. She made her way into the kitchen, snatching up the phone from its cradle on the wall as she passed it on her way to the fridge where the local Chinese take away menu was stuck to the door with a cheap plastic magnet. She dialled the number and leaned one shoulder against the fridge while she waited for someone to answer.

"Hi! I'd like to place an order…"

They always ordered the same things whenever they got take out. Always an assortment of main meals and sides. Always way more than they could ever eat. Dawn hung up after a short conversation and returned the phone to its place. Back in the living room she moved the piles of books from the coffee table to the floor to make space for the food.

The key sounded in the lock and the front door opened.

"I'm back!" Kennedy called out needlessly. Dawn entered the hallway to meet her. "I think I just saw Giles' car turn into the road." The slayer said, hopping around on one foot as she pulled a boot off the other.

"Good. I just ordered Chinese, it'll be here in about twenty minutes." Dawn replied. Kennedy dropped her boot with a thud and started on the other foot. "Any luck…patrolling?" It felt weird calling it a patrol when the sun was up. Wasn't patrol usually an after dark thing?

"Not really." Kennedy said, dropping the second boot and straightening up. She rested her hands on her hips. "I went through some cemeteries but the people there kept giving me weird looks. Too obvious I was looking for something, I think. What about your Google stuff?"

"Ugh. There's just so much contradictory information, it's impossible! And the books have next to nothing." Dawn rolled her eyes.

"Giles will know." Kennedy said sympathetically. "He knows everything."

Outside a car pulled up to the curb. The engine idled a moment before cutting out. Two car doors opened and closed with a thunk. As she heard the jangle of keys nearby and saw a shadow appear in the frosted glass Dawn leaned around Kennedy and pulled on the latch to open the door. Tara looked momentarily surprised, hand raised ready to fit her key in the lock, then she smiled at Kennedy and Dawn. Giles stood behind her.

"Hi, guys!" Tara called cheerily, stepping inside.

"Evening." Giles said, following her inside and closing the door behind himself. As the hallway was fast becoming crowded, Kennedy waved at the new arrivals, then retreated into the kitchen for a drink.

"I ordered Chinese." Dawn announced.

"Nothing like junk food to help take down the forces of darkness." Tara teased with a sloped smile.

Dawn pulled the door open again as she heard footsteps approaching and found Cat and Xander just about to step up onto the porch.

"Psychic Dawn." Cat said with a grin. Giles greeted them from behind Dawn before heading into the living room, while Tara went into the kitchen calling over her shoulder that she would put the kettle on, knowing without asking the hot drinks that everyone would request.

"I should just leave the door open." Dawn said, letting Cat and Xander in.

"Well, Buffy and Willow have keys, they can let themselves in." Xander pointed out, shrugging off his coat and hanging it up with everyone else's.

"The take out guy doesn't have a key." Dawn replied, shutting the door again.

"Take out?" Xander asked, rubbing his hands together. "Yay! Nummy treats." Cat rolled her eyes and dragged him by the elbow into the living room to sit with Giles on the sofa.

Dawn followed them in and sat cross legged on the floor amongst the mountains of books, picking up her notebook and flipping it open to the page she had been writing on. This meeting had the feeling of one that was about to achieve something. Or, at least, she was hopeful. They had identified the creature. Somewhat.

"You've been doing your homework, huh?" Xander asked her playfully.

"Trying." Dawn said with a sigh.

"I like your…board thingy." Cat motioned to the notice board behind Dawn and the teen grinned up at her. "Very CSI murder investigation like."

"Thanks! I figured laying it all out like that might help, you know, see everything all at once."

"A very good idea." Giles commended her. "Something we should utilise more often."

Tara entered ahead of Kennedy juggling several mugs, steam twisting upwards from a mix of tea and coffee. She set them down on the coffee table and divided them up.

"Awesome, ta, Ta!" Cat said with a cheeky grin as she accepted her mug of tea. Tara rolled her eyes good naturedly and sat on the floor with Dawn. Kennedy settled down with a pint glass of water just as the front door opened and brought with it the sound of jingling keys, stamping feet and rustling bags.

"Food!" Buffy called loudly and kicked the door closed. Kennedy hopped back up and dashed into the hallway, returning almost immediately carrying two brown paper bags that were stuffed full of food cartons that filled the room with the smell of fried chicken and noodles.

"Smells so good…" Xander moaned, practically drooling on his feet.

"Mmm, the smell of clogged arteries." Cat said with a delighted grin.

Willow and Buffy came into the living room still wearing their work clothes. Willow immediately went to sit with Tara while Buffy stayed standing and glanced around the room.

"Good." She said. "Everyone's here."

Xander clapped his hands together.

"Okay! Scooby meeting is in session!"


	19. Chapter 18

"There are old Chippewa legends of men made monsters by committing the sin of cannibalism. They either turn into the monster or are possessed by the spirit of it. They're usually described as being encased in ice, the only way to kill the monster being piercing the ice to kill the human at its heart. There are other descriptions. It can be human-like but tall and gaunt, more like a walking corpse than a man. Glowing eyes, eats people… Either way it's called a wendigo."

As Dawn paused to scan her notes for further information the only other sound in the room was that of the assembled group eating from the assortment of take away cartons laid out on the coffee table.

"The latter." Cat said needlessly and Dawn nodded.

"Which isn't encased in ice and you already stabbed it and it didn't die so I have no idea what to do there. The legends can't even seem to agree on _what_ it is. Giant, evil spirit…" She shrugged. "In times where there was a risk of starvation people would rather kill themselves than face turning into a wendigo if they…You know, became _really_ hungry." She let that sink in, saw Tara shudder. "I also found something called wendigo psychosis where for no apparent reason people turn cannibal despite having access to regular food. There are some Cree accounts on that; Jack Fiddler, Swift Runner…" She reviewed her notes and sighed, turning up her palms in exasperation. "It's all so vague. But I think the legends all agree on one thing." She looked up at the group, uneasy.

"Cannibalism?" Xander asked weakly. Dawn nodded, looking disturbed herself.

"Well…That's grim…" Cat wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"I think whoever it was before is gone." Buffy said, leaning forwards on the sofa with her elbows resting on her knees. "It's this…wendigo monster thing now. So…How do we stop it?" Dawn shook her head and shrugged.

"I think it might be photosensitive but that won't kill it, not like a vampire."

"Do we know how it hunts?" Cat asked.

"Uh…" Dawn looked apologetic and shrugged her shoulders again. "I read a story where it can mimic the voices of humans?" She offered.

"It just snarled a lot at us." Buffy said, dismissing the idea.

"So it must just…lurk about and then attack." Xander surmised.

"Maybe?" Dawn replied. "From what I read it's supposed to hang about way North where it's colder and live in forests."

"Though if wendigo psychosis and the legends are linked a wendigo could turn up anywhere and probably hunt where it originated from." Tara said and Willow nodded in agreement.

"If I was a people-munching monster prowling a city I think I'd choose to hunt by night and hang around less populated areas." Xander said thoughtfully, eyes focussed on Dawn's notice board. The map of the city she had printed was pinned in the middle, markers showing the last known locations of potential victims and the areas bodies had been found. Buffy followed his gaze and slid from the sofa to crawl across the floor to the board.

"Clever Xander-monster." Cat quipped.

"Do try to be serious, Cat." Giles admonished. Cat sat up straight and looked up at Giles seriously.

"Okay, Cat-Monster agrees. Dark and enclosed spaces would be good for prowling." She said with a nod.

"Hey, you can't copy me!" Xander whined.

"I didn't." Cat replied smugly. "I said dark and enclosed, not night and less populated." Giles sighed and turned his gaze to Buffy who suddenly jabbed a finger at the map.

"Here." She circled an area on the edge of the scattered markings. "I know the area. I cleared out a vamp nest once. It's mainly empty warehouses."

"I remember that." Kennedy grinned at her blonde haired counterpart. "Good call."

"You think that's where it's hiding?" Willow asked.

"I have no idea, but it's in amongst the disappearances so it's as good a place as any to look." Buffy shrugged glancing over the board. Dawn had arranged it so the victims (both potentials and almost certains) and her accumulated facts encircled the map and as her gaze moved over the images her subconscious suddenly perked up, trying to grab her attention. She frowned as the rest of the group settled into a discussion on other areas to search just in case the latest idea fell through. Her eyes moved from page to page, trying to find whatever had caused a mental blip on the radar. The map? No. The wendigo? No. The people? Maybe. She inched closer to the board. As her eyes settled on a printout of a newspaper article her subconscious all but grabbed a megaphone. Three friends had disappeared at the same time after a night out, last seen leaving a club near the warehouses Buffy had pointed out. Dawn had stuck their 'missing' posters around the article. It wasn't so much the text as the photo the newspaper had included, showing all three young men together grinning at the camera. Mainly though it was the black ink tribal tattoo on the forearm of one of the men that had caught her eye and sent a ping of recognition into her mind. Buffy felt her shoulders slump, a sickening feeling in her gut.

Daniel Mercer. Missing with his friends nine months ago. Never found.

"Oh no…" She moaned.

That caught the attention of everyone instantly.

"What?" Dawn demanded.

"It's him." Buffy pointed at the owner of the tattoo, and glanced back at Cat. "Look. That tattoo. Familiar?"

Cat crawled over to Buffy to look at the image and immediately recoiled.

"Oh, Hell no." She said, looking appalled. "And they all-do you think…He didn't _eat_ his friends?"

"He couldn't have just got a kebab like a normal person?" Kennedy asked, earning herself stares varying between surprise and disgust. "What?"

"Are we sure it's just one wendigo?" Xander asked suddenly. "What if all three of them turned?"

"Possible but unlikely." Giles said. "Buffy and Cat have identified who it…was. I suspect the two friends were his first victims-"

"Or they just happen to be the ones that _turned_ him." Willow interrupted. "How many people do you have to eat anyway to turn into one?"

"Asking for a friend." Cat joked and Willow glowered at her.

"It's not funny." She said.

"I've not found any information about that." Dawn admitted. "It could be one, it could be more."

"What on Earth would possess someone to _eat_ their friends?" Tara asked, staring across the room at the wendigo's picture.

"You think he was possessed?" Xander asked.

"I think it more likely to be this fabled wendigo psychosis." Giles replied grimly.

"It sounds irreversible." Cat said, shifting awkwardly beside Buffy. "So we'll, um…have to work out how to kill it."

"Easier said than done." Buffy sighed. Cat had shoved a sword in its chest and the monster had simply pulled the weapon out and gone on with its day.

"He had friends-"

"Who he ate." Kennedy interrupted Tara with one eyebrow raised.

"Family." Tara continued, looking sideways at the dark haired slayer.

"Probably ate them too."

"Can we really just… _kill_ him?" Tara looked to Buffy and Cat, clearly troubled.

"That man is gone." Buffy gestured to the board, indicating the newspaper and the poster. "That's not him any more. It's like staking a vampire. The demon's taken over, the person they were before is dead."

"We hope." Kennedy helpfully added.

"No, I think she's right." Dawn said bitterly. "I haven't found anything about turning wendigos back into the people they were before."

"Would we really want to, anyway?" Cat asked. "He didn't just randomly turn into one. He made himself that way."

"Let's not make those judgements…" Willow said, looking uncomfortable.

"He's a monster now." Buffy said. "That falls into my jurisdiction."

" _Our_." Kennedy corrected.

"Honestly, Buffy, share the monster bashing." Cat said playfully and rolled her eyes. Buffy looked at her, eyebrow twitching ever so slightly. Cat's face was the picture of innocence.

"That's great." Xander said, looking around the group. "But _how_ do we deal with that, exactly?" He spread his arms to emphasise what he felt was the futility of the situation. "We keep skimming past that."

They fell silent. The meeting had so far thrown up nothing new other than who the wendigo used to be and where they might find him, which was useful but…once they found him how could they dispatch him?

"Well," Kennedy said after a moment, "I doubt he'll be running around eating people without his head?"

Giles nodded slowly in agreement.

"A fair assumption." He replied.

"What if his head grows back?" Willow asked. "Or a blade won't go through him? Did you read anything about that?" She looked to Dawn.

"Uh…No." She admitted.

"So…It looks like it's going to be a trial and error kind of deal." Xander decided grimly. Dawn sighed and looked down at her notes. Useless notes. She picked up her notebook and dropped it unceremoniously onto the coffee table.

"It sounds invincible." She grumbled.

"No." Buffy answered. "Nothing's invincible. If it's alive it can die. And…if it's undead you can…re-dead it…" Her voice faded out.

"Wise words." Cat said, reaching out to pat her knee.

"It's getting late." Giles announced, leaning forwards on the sofa. "I suggest we go to bed now, reconvene tomorrow. We can look further into finding a definitive way of killing the beast while searching the area Buffy pinpointed. Until we know how to kill it that's all we'll be doing." He looked between Buffy and Kennedy. "Searching."

Buffy rolled her eyes. Though knew he was right. She did occasionally leap in guns blazing… And right now she was itching to do just that. She wanted to get out there and find the creature. It had plenty of time between now and tomorrow to strike again while they sat around wondering what to do. She hated it, this feeling of inactivity.

It was late, and they had work. They would just have to continue tomorrow.

"No attacking until we know how to kill it." She said, climbing to her feet and stretching her arms above her head. Her shoulders felt stiff from sitting hunched over on the floor. "Got it."

"I can do that. I'm off tomorrow." Cat said, crawling towards the table to begin gathering up the rubbish left over from dinner.

"Handy, because no where gives spontaneous days off for slaying." Xander grinned at her.

"I'd just pull a sicky if I was needed." Cat assured him.

"Rebel." Tara teased.

"Slaying totally needs to become a paid job." Buffy said wistfully.

"If only." Kennedy agreed.

* * *

The last light in the house had been switched off hours ago. The occupants were fast asleep, lost in dreams. Buffy, however, was far from it. She lay awake in bed, staring up at the ceiling above her. Orange light from the streetlights outside crept through a crack in her curtains and slashed through the darkness of her bedroom, edging her belongings with their strange glow. A car wooshed by in a nearby street. Further away, a train rattled along its tracks. The city held its breath, waiting for dawn, waiting for the people to wake. Buffy threw aside her sheets and sat upright, swung her legs out of bed and paused.

She was restless, needed to do something. The cool night air chilled her skin after the warmth of her bed. She rubbed her arms and stood, and hastily began to dress. She pulled on boots and a jacket, stuffed a wooden stake into her waistband, a knife in one boot, and silently made her way out of her room, down the stairs, and out through the front door. Then she was off, sprinting across town towards the empty warehouses she was sure harboured the wendigo.

She didn't make it.

Long before she reached those disused buildings her slayer since pinged a warning. She slowed to a jog and then a walk before finally standing still in the middle of the road she had been running down, ears straining in the deafening silence as her eyes flicked from shadow to shadow.

Houses lined one side of the street, windows dark portals in the gloom. On the other side high wooden fences and trees screened one side of a large park. Ahead the street became a crossroads, houses on both sides disappearing into the night. Street lights dulled the edges of her surroundings in muted orange and gleamed from the cars parked at either curb. Her body was warning her that danger lurked nearby, but she could hear nor see anything out of the ordinary. She started walking again, pausing when she reached the intersection. She glanced first left, then right, trying to figure out what the insistent warning was attempting to tell her. The hairs at the back of her neck prickled, a chill crawling the length of her spine. She turned right, following the border of the park as it swept away out of sight in a faint arc.

She heard the scrape of shoes against concrete and a shadowy someone came into view around the curve of the park border. They wore baggy jeans and a hoody, hood pulled up throwing their face into shadow. They looked up as they heard Buffy approaching and she saw it was a girl in her late teens. Nothing to worry about, definitely not the thing her slayer sense was making a fuss about. The teen crossed the street, posture tense. It was late out and she hadn't expected to find anyone here.

Buffy faltered in the shadow cast by a tree in the park, tall enough to block the light from the streetlights, as her senses threw out another warning, screaming for attention now. And then she saw it, up on the rooftops across the street. The flash of silver eyes, the ripple of shadow as it moved silently across the tiles, leaping from roof to roof as it stalked the teen. It hadn't noticed Buffy yet, she was sure of it, stood as she was in the deep shadows beneath the tree, and focused as it was on its prey.

The teen glanced across the road at Buffy, picked up her pace and hurried with her head down. The wendigo dropped soundlessly onto the pavement behind the teen, coiled itself to pounce. Buffy exploded across the street.

"Run!" She shouted at the girl, who stopped in surprise and whipped round to face the shout. The wendigo drew itself to its full height. The teen stumbled backwards, mouth open in a silent scream as her voice froze in her throat. The wendigo hissed its rage at Buffy and took off down the street as the girl stood rooted to the spot and stared.

"Get home _now_." Buffy ordered as she barrelled passed her in pursuit of the wendigo as it sprinted Hell for leather away from her. Buffy was supernaturally fast. The wendigo, however, was faster still, leaping parked cars as though stepping over tiny stones in its path. As they neared the end of the street the wendigo jumped onto the roof of one car and used it as a springboard to jump up onto the roof of a house and continue is run along the rooftops. Buffy sped passed the car as the alarm began wailing and turned the corner, eyes up above to follow the wendigo as it easily cleared the distances between each roof without breaking stride, gaining distance with each jump. It wasn't long before she had lost sight of it. She halted in the middle of the road and bent double, hands on knees to catch her breath. The cold air burned her throat and lungs raw as her breath came in ragged gasps. Her heart pounded painfully against her ribs. Sweat dried uncomfortably on her face in the icy wind, leaving her skin feeling sticky and tight. She straightened with her hands on her hips, forcing herself to breathe slow and deep as reached out with her senses, desperate for even the tiniest blip on her radar. Nothing. The night was still and empty.

She turned on her heel and headed back the way she had come, back home, with the sky lightening behind her.


	20. Chapter 19

Darkness closed in faster that evening. Giles and Tara barely had time to get through the front the door after work before full night settled over the city and street lights burned away the shadows in orange while humming loudly with electricity. Buffy was pacing the living room agitatedly where the others waited. Someone had made sandwiches and left them on a plate on the coffee table amongst all the books and notes and Cat and Xander were sat on the sofa happily munching through PB&J.

"Sorry we're late." Giles called through the doorway from the hall as he shrugged off his jacket. "We hit some traffic."

Buffy waved off the apology. She had been anxious to get home all day. They had all by now heard of her run in during the early hours of the morning with the wendigo, how it had eluded her. How frustrated it was.

"We're going to try and get straight on it." Dawn said, offering the plate of sandwiches to Giles and Tara as they made their way into the room. Xander and Cat shuffled up on the sofa to make some room for Giles and he gratefully perched on the edge and accepted a sandwich.

"So." Buffy clapped her hands together, swung them back down at her sides and turned on her heel to pace towards the TV. She turned again and stopped, frowning at the floor as she gathered her thoughts. The group looked at her expectantly, waiting for the rest of the sentence. Instead she began picking at the edge of her thumbnail.

Giles cleared his throat and shifted forwards on the sofa, brushing crumbs from his fingers onto the now empty plate of sandwiches.

"Yes, well, anyway." He said. "I'm assuming we're here to quickly throw a plan together and spring into action?"

"Hopefully." Buffy nodded and looked up at him. "We still need to find it and figure out how to kill it."

"Why don't some of us head out and search while the rest look into killing methods?" Cat suggested. "Kill two birds with one stone."

"That's such a horrible saying…" Dawn muttered. Kennedy patted her shoulder in mock comfort.

"It's a good plan though." Xander said.

"It's not really plan, is it." Kennedy raised a sceptical eyebrow. Cat rolled her eyes.

"It's an outline." She replied.

"I like it." Buffy said. "We'll split into three groups. Two go out searching for the wendigo's hiding place, split up to cover more ground. The rest stay here and find us a way to kill it, call us when you figure it out."

"Okay, but the legends are pretty hazy on details." Dawn said slowly. "What if we don't find anything? Or it's some spell that takes like three months to finish?"

"Then we'll find the wendigo and neutralize him until we figure it out." Kennedy said, already climbing to her feet.

"And if you don't find him?" Dawn continued.

"Well, we won't with that attitude!" Cat cried.

"Anyway!" Buffy interrupted loudly to halt the discussion before it could start. "Adding to the plan-"

"Outline." Kennedy broke in.

"-I'm thinking Kennedy and Tara take one half, me and Cat take the other, everyone else stays back and goes through every shred of information we can find on this thing." Buffy ignored Kennedy.

"Woah, what? Why Tara?" Willow immediately cried.

"Also, I can fight too." Xander said, raising a hand.

"And me!" Dawn insisted. Buffy sighed and pointed to Kennedy.

"Slayer." She pointed to Tara. "Magic expert." Tara gave a sloped smile in response. Buffy pointed to herself. "Slayer." She pointed to Cat and paused. "Extra slayer thing."

"I can do _some_ magic." Cat sulked.

"I'm a magic expert too!" Willow whined.

"Which, I'm assuming, is why you're staying behind." Giles said, turning his gaze to Buffy who nodded. "In case we find a spell we need to use."

"I'm stronger." She continued, and was met with a raised eyebrow from Tara. "Backtracking now…"

"Also, don't bring Hulk when you only need Bruce." Cat supplied helpfully.

"Those are technically the same people." Xander replied. Cat sighed.

"Fine, don't bring Hulk when you only need Iron Man?"

"I'm not a man." Tara protested.

"Black Widow?" Cat asked.

"And Thor's _way_ stronger than Hulk." Dawn joined the conversation. "He's a _god_!"

"The _point_ is, it's just a scout. We don't need an army." Buffy said. "There will be no fighting."

"Three's a crowd." Xander said fairly, looking innocently at Willow who narrowed her eyes in response to the suspected taunt.

"And I'm not letting you go instead just because you think I need protecting." Tara told Willow who immediately spluttered.

"That's not what I-"

"Totally is." Cat flashed her a cheeky grin and Willow scowled at her.

"Can we please stop getting distracted?" Buffy asked wearily.

"This brings back memories." Giles sighed, pulling off his glasses to clean the lenses on the edge of his shirt.

"In a happy nostalgia way?" Dawn asked hopefully. Giles simply looked at her. "I'll take that as a no."

"You all have the same attention span you did in high school." He informed them, putting his glasses back on and looking up at Buffy expectantly. "You were saying?"

"To save time me and Cat, and Kennedy and Tara will split the search area in two while everyone else figures out a way to kill the wendigo. Once we find the wendigo or where ever it's holed up we'll regroup. If you guys still haven't found a definitive way to kill it then we'll come back. If you have, then let us know and we'll meet up and finish it off." Buffy said. "Is that plan enough?" She asked Kennedy, who grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

"And if the wendigo finds you first?" Willow asked worriedly.

"Cut off his head." Dawn suggested helpfully. "If it doesn't kill him it'll at least slow him down."

"Hopefully it doesn't have hydra syndrome and grows extra heads." Cat said.

"I'm sure it won't." Giles replied.

"Well, then, set phones to ninja and get out there!" Xander said enthusiastically, rubbing his palms together. He balked under the stares he received. "I mean silent…Set phones to silent and be sneaky ninjas like…never mind. Just go. Please."

"So I'm just gunna go get my coat and shoes…" Cat said, awkwardly patting Xander's knee as she stood up. "Dork." She whispered with a smirk as she passed him and darted out of the room. Xander scowled at her as she left.

"What happens if we find a way to kill him and you haven't found him?" Dawn asked Buffy.

"Then we'll all meet up and hunt until we find him." Kennedy replied grimly.

* * *

Heavy grey clouds hung low in the sky, blocking out the stars and threatening rain. The air was damp and cold and a strong wind gusted through the streets, icy cold knifing through layers of clothes to chill the bones. Though Kennedy simply wore a black leather biker jacket open over a plain white T as though she hadn't noticed Winter was coming. Cat was fairly certain the slayer was some kind of human radiator and envied her. Though maybe it was the high of being on the hunt that warmed her…

"Would it kill the beasties to hunt during the day?" She grumbled, pulling at her scarf until it covered her lower face to provide a little extra warmth against the night. "Where it's brighter and warmer and less horrible." She hunched her shoulders and stuffed her hands into her trouser pockets.

"Some of them." Kennedy said.

"But also it's easier to hunt at night." Tara pointed out. "Less witnesses, more shadows to hide in."

"I know." Cat sighed.

"Do you want to swap with Willow?" Buffy teased the reaper, who rolled her eyes.

"No." She said, coming to a halt at the end of the street. The others paused with her.

"So, we'll go this way." Kennedy nodded her head to the left. "You go that way?"

"Approach from different directions and meet in the middle?" Buffy continued as though reading Kennedy's mind.

"Yup. Let's go." Kennedy said, and headed off at a brisk pace, Tara hurrying after her.

"Shall we split again when we get there?" Cat suggested as she followed Buffy in the opposite direction. "Cover even more ground."

"We'll figure it out when we get there." Buffy replied.

* * *

"So, when you Google 'how to kill a wendigo' all that comes up is pages and pages of useless information." Dawn told the group sat around the coffee table sifting through books. "Apparently wendigos are notoriously hard to kill. Great. Thanks. You want to elaborate?" She sighed and closed Willow's laptop, left it on the sofa beside her.

"The fact that they're notoriously _hard_ to kill at least suggests they _can_ be killed." Giles replied, looking up from the pages he had been reading. "Just that it's difficult to do so."

"We just need to read all the legends then pool the knowledge." Willow said.

"That could take a while." Xander added another book to the useless pile.

"Not really." Dawn said, sliding off the sofa onto the floor and reaching for a book. "We have about three books with a couple of paragraphs on wendigos."

"I need a drink." Willow muttered, rising and heading into the kitchen. She grabbed a glass from the drying rack by the sink and filled it with water. She stood sipping at it staring out the window into the dark garden, listening to the others talking in the living room, worrying about Tara and Kennedy bumping into the monster in some darkened and abandoned corner of the city.

"So, the wendigo heart is allegedly made of ice." Xander read from his book. "Is that useful?"

"How could a heart of ice be useful?" Dawn asked sceptically. "How would that even _work_?"

"Not what I meant, but good point."

"I'm not an expert on the technicalities of demonic physiology." Giles replied without looking up from his own book.

"I don't get how if it's heart is made of ice, how can it pump blood?" Dawn continued.

"Magic ice, now keep looking."

"Maybe it's not 'ice ice'." Xander said fairly. "It could be ice different to what we're used to."

It wasn't hard to slip out of the house unnoticed. They didn't even hear the door. Willow took off down the street praying she wasn't too far behind the others.

* * *

There was a block of warehouses sitting empty and forgotten, closed down years before when the businesses moved or failed. Trees had been planted to screen the ugly buildings from the houses that surrounded the area, though some of the houses looked as forgotten as the warehouses. The trees did a good job of blocking out the sight of the buildings beyond, and through trunks scarred with carved graffiti could be seen high chain link fencing, rubbish and old leaves piling up against it on both sides. At intervals were hung rusting metal signs warning trespassers to 'Keep Out!'

"No cameras." Cat commented from where she and Buffy stood surveying the area from the other side of the street. A ring road ran between them, tarmac cracked and broken, weeds and grass forcing their way up through concrete to claim it.

"Doubt anyone would notice anything happening in there." Buffy added, crossing the road and approaching the fence. It was topped with an unbroken line of coiled barbed wire. The buildings on the other side were run down and boarded up, the paving and roads between the warehouses irreparably damaged.

"I don't think anyone's been inside in a while." Cat said, joining her at the fence. "Not even kids messing around."

"What about a wendigo?" Buffy asked, looking sideways at her. Cat shrugged, then bowed with a flourish.

"After you."

Buffy scrambled up the trunk of the closest tree to grab one of the lower hanging branches and swing herself over the barbed wire. She landed on the other side of the fence in a crouch and a shower of dry dead leaves. Cat dropped beside her seconds later and they started off towards the first building.

* * *

Not much had been said since parting ways with Buffy and Cat, and Tara worried the silence was awkward. She and Kennedy hadn't spent much time getting to know each other the few times they had crossed paths, and had never been alone together before. Glancing sideways at the slayer for the third time since leaving the house she saw Kennedy's posture was relaxed, though her gaze was focussed.

"It's not far now." Kennedy told her, turning her head to meet her eyes. "Just round the corner." She pointed to the end of the street. Tara looked in the direction Kennedy had pointed as though expecting to see the cluster of warehouses, but the cars and two-storey houses here blocked the view.

"And you cleared out a vampire nest?" She asked. Kennedy nodded in affirmation. "What if more moved in?"

"It's possible, but I doubt it." Kennedy replied. "They'd have to be pretty stupid to… Wait, I see your point." She grinned sideways at Tara, a cocky smirk that had Tara smiling faintly in amusement.

They turned the corner and Tara's smile faltered as she saw the vast ground they were expected to search. Chain link fencing wrapped around an area that easily spanned a couple of blocks with several hulking building of corrugated metal, dark and presumably empty. The road lead to two wide gates chained shut, continued through the buildings and branched off to give access to each one. There were no lights within the fence boundaries and Tara's eyes couldn't see far enough through the darkness to find the other side. She was glad they had brought torches with them.

"We're searching all that…?" She asked, hurrying to catch up with Kennedy who had marched on ahead while she hesitated to take in the sight. "Just us two and Buffy and Cat?"

"Three." Kennedy replied, stopping at the fence and turning to face Tara.

"Three?" Tara repeated, sure she had either misheard or misunderstood. Kennedy hooked her thumbs into her belt loops and grinned at her obvious confusion, looking a little smug.

"Willow _thinks_ she's great at stealth." Her dark eyes fixed on a spot over Tara's shoulder. Tara frowned at her and turned and her eyes widened in surprise as they spied a head of red hair peering cautiously over the bonnet of a parked car.

"Willow!" She exclaimed, her tone scolding. Kennedy laughed.

"Busted."

Willow inched out of her hiding place sheepishly and made her way towards them, fiddling with her coat buttons, her scarf, looking anywhere but them. Kennedy folded her arms over her chest and arched one eyebrow as Tara frowned at her girlfriend.

"What are you doing following us?" She demanded.

"I was worried." Willow said, looking up at Tara and then Kennedy, eyes pleading. "The others were talking about how this thing is impossible to kill and you're all waltzing into its lair. If something happened…" She left then sentence hanging, gesturing lamely and letting her hands drop to her sides.

"If something happens it happens to you too now." Tara pointed out. Willow shrugged her shoulders in an almost imperceptible move.

"At least it happens to both of us." She replied. Kennedy cleared her throat loudly. "All of us." Willow amended, looking up at the slayer and smiling faintly. She wrung her hands as she noted Tara's still frosty stare. "Look, I'm not here because I think you need protecting. I'm here because I can't stand not knowing. You'd be the same!"

"Do the others know you're here?" Tara asked, and Willow took that as a small victory. Though it could easily have just been Tara accepting the matter as it couldn't be changed unless Willow wandered all the way back home alone again.

"Well, they haven't tried to call me." She admitted, taking her phone from her trouser pocket and eyeing up the display. In the darkness it lit up her face in an eerie blue light. "But that could just mean they figured out where I've gone and aren't worried."

"Why don't you let them know while I find us a way in?" Kennedy suggested, one corner of her mouth twitching upwards into a mischievous smile. "Pretty sure you don't want to climb over barbed wire." Without waiting for an answer she turned and left them both, striding beyond the line of trees and following the fence.

Willow sighed and looked down at her phone, using that as a distraction from Tara as she composed a text to send to Dawn.

"Are you mad at me?" She mumbled. Tara blinked at her in surprise, then frowned in confusion.

"What? No, why?" She asked. Willow glanced up at her briefly, then back down at her phone as her thumbs moved over the keys.

"You sounded mad." She accused, pouting ever so slightly.

"No. I'm not mad. I'm just… I don't know." She tipped her head, trying to catch Willow's gaze. "Does it matter?" Willow gave a playful smile, sending her text.

"You're Tara." She joked. Tara quirked an amused eyebrow, then looked down at the phone in Willow's hand as it vibrated before the redhead could even get it back into her pocket. "Oh, wow… Dawn replies fast." She muttered.

"I found a way in."

Willow and Tara looked up at Kennedy's voice, to see the slayer striding towards them while jerking a thumb back over one shoulder.

"That was also fast." Tara said, looking sideways at Willow, then back to Kennedy who frowned slightly at her, having missed the comment on Dawn.

"Yeah, well. Kids will be kids. Some of the fence's been bent up to get inside." She replied.

"You _hope_ it's kids." Willow said grimly, putting her phone in her pocket. Bored teens causing mischief were the least of their worries.

"Well, going by what Buffy told us she saw, if the wendigo's in there he'd just jump the fence." Tara murmured, eyeing up the high chain links and twisted rings of barbed wire.

"You ready?" Kennedy asked them both. The wiccans exchanged a look, then turned back to the slayer and nodded.

* * *

The buildings were all identical outside and in. Abandoned, empty, forgotten. They had been chained up and left to rot without a second thought. No cameras, no alarms. But that was fine.

Soft rotten wood crunched and fell away from the locks as Kennedy gave the doors an experimental shove. What had once been solid and immovable now crumbled at touch and swung open inwards. She arched one eyebrow and stood staring into the gaping void within. Someone had already forced the locks.

"Already open." She needlessly informed the others.

"Third time lucky?" Willow asked, smiling without mirth. All three of them were covered in dirt and dust from their explorations and had yet to turn up anything useful. The first building had shown evidence of some kind of camp fire, the ground around it littered with old empty food packets and dusty glass bottles of beer. The old occupants were long gone, the doors locked and bolted once more after them. The second search threw up even less.

"Fingers crossed." Tara said, switching on her torch and aiming the bright white beam inside. It was exactly the same as its predecessors.

Floor to ceiling steel racking dominated the centre of the building, metal stairs by the doors spiralling up to branch out into walk ways high above them in the shadows. Windows thick with grime slanted dim light from outside in diagonal shafts, pale moonlight knifing through shadow so thick it suffocated. A broken forklift with forks jammed at half mast loomed out of the shadows in one corner, yellow rusting paintwork showing bright against its gloomy surroundings. Presumably at the opposite end of the building was an office and a wide loading bay, steel shutter bolted closed.

A thick layer of dust and dirt carpeted the concrete floor, muffling their footsteps. Kennedy's torch beam swept the ground revealing foot prints and scuff marks spiralling outwards in all directions. Willow crouched to inspect some of the more intact prints.

"Definitley not human." She said softly. "Doesn't look like a dog print or anything else."

"Wendigo?" Tara asked, matching her tone. She wasn't sure if she wanted the answer to be negative or affirmative.

"Maybe. The books were a bit light on information about tracking them." Willow stood back up, green eyes straining to penetrate the darkness ahead of them.

"Then be _very_ quiet." Kennedy said, voice dropped to a low whisper.

"The thought had occurred to me, thanks." Willow shot back. Kennedy rolled her eyes and stalked forwards, Willow and Tara following. The small amount of light permitted to enter through the open doorway behind them was soon swallowed by the smothering darkness inside the building as they penetrated the maze of shelfing. In some places mouldy cardboard boxes still crowded some shelves. Empty now, as proven by Willow curiously peering inside some.

"I can't believe anyone found anything in here." Tara whispered, staring up towards the ceiling where the shelves disappeared into darkness.

"It smells weird." Willow hissed. "Can you smell that?" Kennedy sniffed loudly and almost gagged, swiftly jamming her fist against her mouth to regain control.

"Buffy and Cat did mention the wendigo smelt kind of…"

"Fragrant?" Willow finished for her girlfriend. Tara nodded. That was one way to put it. The deeper they infiltrated the worse it became. Sickly, sweet, cloying, most definitely nothing good.

Tara danced her torch beam against the floor, checking once more for foot prints, then up at the shelves beside her and swiftly strangled a scream in her throat as she found something staring back at her. Willow choked on air and hastily stumbled backwards into the racking behind her with a bang that echoed loudly through the building.

"Shhh!" Kennedy hissed.

"I'm sorry, but there's a human _skull_ over there!" Willow snapped sarcastically, barely managing to keep her voice down as she waved a hand manically at the wildly out of place body part. Tara was frozen to the spot, leaving the skull displayed in a cone of bright white light. Just the skull. Red and stained, scrags of flesh still clinging in places, scraped free in others, grinning menacingly at her from an uncomfortably close distance.

"Gross…" Kennedy wrinkled her nose and pushed Tara's torch down.

"Who do you think it is?" Tara mumbled, unable to pull her eyes away from the grisly sight. She felt like a small army of spiders were marching the length of her spine. Her skin crawled.

"I feel sick." Willow informed them. "And, uh….Where's the rest?"

Kennedy pointed, then swiftly jerked the torch beams away.

"I wouldn't look." She advised them.

"So…We definitely found where he's hiding." Tara said, swallowing hard in the hope it would keep her dinner where it was supposed to be.

"Quiet." Kennedy held up a finger, the sudden tension in her body halting any more discussion. "Did you hear that?"

* * *

The living room was silent save for the tapping of laptop keys and the dry rustle of paper. Desperation had set in an hour ago and now the trio sat frantically consuming every scrap of information available.

Xander had long ago learned how to skim pages of text in search of the key words and phrases he needed. He had been staring at his book as though in a trance, turning pages automatically, for what felt like hours when a two words shocked him back into consciousness. _Wendigo_. _Killed._ He sat up straighter and scanned the page again until he found the word. His eyes struggled to focus on the ink, so he blinked a few times to bring the type back into focus.

"Oh, hey, hey!" He clicked his fingers at Giles and Dawn who stared at him in surprise. "I think I found something." He looked up at them excitedly.

"Do go on." Giles remarked drily when Xander simply stared between them both.

"Right. Um… It says…huh…" His brown creased in confusion. "It says a wendigo can only be killed by piercing its heart with pure flame." He looked back up at Giles. "What the Hell does that mean?"

"I believe it's just fancy talk for 'kill it with fire'." Giles said, holding out his hand for the book so he could examine it himself.

"Which if its heart is made of ice like some of the other legends say then that totally makes sense!" Dawn cried excitedly. "Um…You know, from a legend's point of view."

"It's still so vague…" Giles murmured, turning the page to see if he could find any additional hints. "It will have to do. Can you call the others? Tell them what we've found?" This he directed to Dawn who immediately pounced on the coffee table and began shifting stacks of books around until she recovered her phone. She dialled Kennedy first and held the phone to her ear, anxiously biting at her thumb nail as she waited for the slayer to pick up.

Three rings.

"Come on…" Four rings...Fi- "Huh…" Dawn pulled her phone away and stared at the display. Disconnected. "She hung up." She tried again as Xander and Giles exchanged a look.

" _The person you have called cannot be reached…"_

"She turned it off…" Dawn stared down at her phone, a sick feeling building in the pit of her stomach.

"Call Buffy." Giles ordered, leaping to his feet and striding out of the room towards the weapons closet. Xander swiftly followed.

* * *

"I thought you put it on silent!" Willow shrieked in a whisper.

" _I_ thought I put it on silent!" Kennedy snapped back.

"Stop arguing!" Tara whispered desperately. "Do you think it heard?"

"Of course it heard! How could it not hear?! Half of Cleveland heard!" Willow. Terror rising.

"I'm _sorry_ okay? Let's just-" Kennedy abruptly stopped speaking as a loud and inhuman screech echoed through the warehouse, freezing the group into a stunned silence. The slayer reacted first. "Lights off." She hissed, switching off her torch. Tara followed suit a beat later, plunging them into total darkness, the only sounds now their panicked breathing. "Don't move."

There was a clang from somewhere nearby. Too near. Willow's hand automatically sought the comfort of Tara's, groping blindly in the black until her fingers grasped her lover's. Tara squeezed their palms together, the grip betraying her nerves while she somehow exuded an aura of calm. Though Willow could feel the frantic throbbing of her pulse as she held on tight.

Footsteps, scuffing through the dust, heading right for them. On the other side of the shelves maybe. Willow held her breath to silence herself, but even her pulse felt too loud, pounding erratically in her head.

It was moving ever closer, soft, measured footsteps. Stalking its prey. It could see perfectly. Willow felt Kennedy move beside her, one arm inching carefully behind. She heard the soft whisper of steel against leather as the slayer carefully withdrew a knife.

The footsteps stopped. Kennedy froze. Had it heard? She gripped the knife tight in a palm slick with sweat. She could sense the beast, in the next aisle over, forwards and right. He was… just standing there. Waiting. She breathed slowly and shallowly. Could he hear that?

He stood there for what felt like hours. In reality, she knew, it was minutes, until he finally whipped round and scampered off the way he had come as though attracted by some noise in the distance. Kennedy let out a breath as relief flooded through her. She waited a moment, then clicked on her torch, aiming it at their feet as she turned to the wiccans. Tara copied, eager to be out of the darkness.

"We have to go, _now_." She whispered hoarsely. "It could be back at any-ugh!" Kennedy jerked and stopped with an expression of confusion on her face. Willow blinked at her.

"Huh?"

Tara's eyes were drawn downwards. In the light cast by Kennedy's torch she saw, spreading wet and dark against the white fabric of the slayer's T-shirt, blood. It moved rapidly outwards from an exit wound hidden partially beneath the black leather jacket at her midriff.

"Oh my-"

The wendigo raised itself to its full height directly behind Kennedy, towering over them, and roared defiantly, ripping it's claws free of her back.


	21. Chapter 20

Hours of research had not prepared Tara for the true horror of the creature she faced now. Until that moment the wendigo had simply been a monster of nightmares. She realized it had never truly dawned on her that she might actually one day be stood in front of it, staring up into the furiously burning eyes as it wrenched its claws free of Kennedy's flesh, bringing the slayer to her knees. Tara swallowed hard, feeling oddly numb. Likewise beside her Willow had turned into a statue, gawping up at the beast. Then suddenly she snapped to attention, grabbed Tara's torch and aimed the beam at the wendigo's face. It immediately recoiled with an angry screech and crashed backwards into the metal racking surrounding them as it covered its face with its hands. It crouched down and roared at them, eyes strangely luminous in the shadows. Willow aimed the torch at its face again and it turned tail and fled.

"What…?" Tara started, brain scrambling lamely to process events that were rapidly spiralling out of control.

"Photosensitive." Willow replied breathlessly, shoving the torch back into Tara's hands. She dropped to her knees beside Kennedy and reached out to her, but Kennedy was already struggling upright and pushed her off.

"I'm fine." She said stubbornly, grabbing a metal shelf and pulling herself to her feet.

"You are _not_ fine." Willow replied, standing beside her. Kennedy pressed a palm against the wound in her side and grimaced.

"I will be. Come on, we have to get out of here." She staggered away in the direction of the doors. Willow and Tara exchanged a look, then hastily followed either side of her, ready to support the slayer if needed.

* * *

Across the site Buffy and Cat were making their way out of a similar building bemoaning yet another fruitless search when they were halted by Buffy's phone vibrating frantically in her pocket.

"You think they figured out how to kill it?" Cat asked as Buffy withdrew her phone and answered.

"Hello?"

"Buffy! Quick! We think something's happened to Kennedy, Willow and Tara!" Dawn immediatley began babbling as the phone was answered.

"Willow? Isn't she with you?"

"No! She left! She's with Kennedy and Tara. I tried to call them to say we figured it out but Kennedy hung up and-"

Cat turned away from a thoroughly confused Buffy and the sound of her yammering sister when another noise caught her attention. A faint shout from across the site and a screeching she knew all too well. The sound of some sort of drama combined with Dawn's nervous babbling set her sprinting away from Buffy and in the direction of the disturbance, putting two and two together and fearing the worst.

The uneven ground hampered her speed and more than once she had to leap over discarded glass bottles and other debris or risk breaking an ankle. She heard the wendigo again, louder now, and pinpointed the building it was coming from. Looming dead ahead amidst a cluster of low single storey admin buildings surrounded by waist height metal railings. She didn't want to lose time circling the warehouse to search for the way in, and so decided to take a shortcut. That building was just close enough to the warehouse…

She ran as fast as she could, fairly flying over tarmac and concrete, jumped up onto the railing and used it to springboard herself up onto the roof of the building and keep running.

* * *

Somewhere in the back of the warehouse, where the shadows were darkest, the wendigo had decided to give its food another go. One was wounded, after all.

"He's coming back." Kennedy announced, hearing the snarl and the sound of feet thudding against the concrete floor. She shoved Willow and Tara forwards, then came to a halt behind them. "Go on, get out of here!"

The wiccans paused and looked first at each other, then at Kennedy, unsure of what to do. Silver eyes gleamed in the darkness behind the slayer.

"GO!" She shouted, feeling the warning prickle of her slayer sense.

One of the windows high above exploded inwards as a dark shape crashed through. Cat fell through a rain of glass, felt her stomach climb its way up her throat as she went into freefall and the ground rushed up to meet her. She summoned her sword with one hand, reached out with the other to grab a metal shelf as she sped past. She swung herself forwards, tucked into a roll as she hit the floor and came up standing just ahead of the bewildered group.

"Heard you needed assistance?"

"Yup, wendigo." Willow pointed beyond Kennedy. As if in response the monster gave an angry screech and barrelled towards the disturbance. Kennedy threw herself sideways out of the path of the oncoming wendigo as Cat rushed to meet it head on, drawing her sword as she went. The saya clattered onto the floor as she dropped it and swung her blade. The wendigo caught it in his hands and wrenched it towards himself, bringing Cat with it as she refused to let go. He roared in her face. She wrinkled her nose and responded with a headbutt.

As Cat and the wendigo fought, Tara attempted to get between a squabbling Willow and Kennedy.

"-Stoppit, let me see!"

"Goddammit, Willow, I'm fine." Kennedy slapped the redhead's hands away from her side.

"I really don't think this is the time…" Tara said, motioning to the ongoing fight.

"You're going to need so many shots and all sorts-"

"I don't need shots." Kennedy interrupted, whipping off Willow's scarf and tying it around her stomach to staunch the flow of blood. "Better?"

"No! That was a present!"

Buffy dashed into the warehouse, following the noise of the fray and the argument. Her trainers churned up the years of dust that coated the ground as she ran. She raced by Kennedy, Willow and Tara and headed for Cat and the scrapping wendigo though the reaper seemed to be holding her own, ducking and weaving around the monster as he swiped and grasped. The wendigo snarled as he saw Buffy and leaped upwards, scrambling over shelves into the shadows high above.

"Hey, you scared him off!" Cat protested, eyes roving the darkness. Scratching and clanging echoed throughout the warehouse from the back of the building.

"He's outnumbered." Tara said.

"Not as big and bad as he thinks!" Willow announced smugly.

"Spread out and find him." Buffy announced. Cat looked sideways at her in disbelief.

"Uh…Sorry, don't you watch horror movies?" She asked.

"Giles and the others are on their way. They'll be here soon." Buffy said, turning to face the group. "In the mean time we need to make sure the wendigo doesn't escape."

"Or, you know, kill us." Cat added.

"Buffy's right, though." Kennedy told the shorter woman. "If he gets out, what if we can't find him again?"

"Wait, did they find a way to kill it?" Tara asked.

"Something about piercing it with fire?" Buffy said, frowning and shaking her head. "Somehow."

Willow glanced down at Cat's sword as the blade caught the light of Tara's torch and an idea began to form.

"We could set the sword on fire and stab him?" She suggested.

"We will do no such thing!" Cat retorted, scandalised.

"Why not?" Willow demanded.

"You'll break it!"

"It's magic, it'll fix itself."

"I'm not willing to test that theory!" Cat moved back, blocking her blade from sight with her body. "Besides, swords aren't flammable. We have no oil, and no way of setting it on fire."

"We have magic." Buffy said and the group fell silent.

"Ugh, fine!" Cat grumbled. "What's the plan?"

* * *

Xander braced himself against the dashboard of the car as Giles took another corner well over the speed limit. Dawn shoved the big duffle bag crammed with weapons against one of the rear doors to avoid being impaled as she and the bag were rocked around in the back of the vehicle.

"You know, we probably wouldn't have to speed if you hadn't made us look for the silver bolts!" She cried. "We had enough stuff already."

"I told you, silver is good against most demons and creatures of darkness. We may as well hit the wendigo with silver and fire together." Giles replied, spinning the wheel again and careening around another corner so fast Xander was sure he felt two wheels leave the road. "And we're speeding so we can get there _fast._ "

"Water is wet." Xander retorted, thudding back into his seat.

"Dawn said the others were in trouble. I'm sorry if my driving offends anyone but this is a dire situation." They screeched onto another street and shot towards a chain link fence surrounding their destination. "Are you both wearing seatbelts?"

"You're only just checking that _now_?!" Dawn asked.

"Giles, there's a gate there." Xander said, staring dead ahead as the car continued to pick up speed.

"I know." Giles replied, risking a quick glance at his companions.

"Giles, it's chained up." Xander added.

"I know, hold on."

The car sped forwards and slammed into the gates hard enough to rip the chains free and keep going.

"Jesus Christ, man!" Xander yelped, staring at the watcher behind the wheel. Giles finally allowed the car to slow.

"Where do you think they are?" He asked, ignoring Xander.

* * *

"He's coming! He's coming! Stop him!" Cat shouted desperately, charging through the warehouse after the wendigo as he raced through the shadows towards the open doors.

Kennedy and Tara immediately sprang into action, Tara halting in the doorway and channelling magic into her hands as Kennedy ran to meet the wendigo, dropping one shoulder to ram it into his chest. Instead she met air as the wendigo jumped up, clearing first the slayer, then the Wiccan before either of them could do much more than register surprise. They both whipped round to watch as the wendigo landed and continued to run out into the open.

"Goddammit!" Buffy cried, sprinting past them through the doors with Cat and Willow keeping pace.

There was a squeal of tyres and a bang as a beat up old grey corolla slammed on the breaks and spun round, smashing the side panel into the wendigo so hard the creature flew backwards through the air several meters and crashed back down to earth. Buffy skidded to a halt by the bewildered wendigo, blinking at the car.

"Giles?"

Sure enough three doors opened and out scrambled Giles, Xander, and Dawn. Dawn dragged out the heavy bag of weapons and rushed passed the wendigo to the others as they left the gloom of the warehouse for the slightly lighter outside.

"Sorry we took so long." Giles said to Buffy. She was about to answer him when the wendigo flipped onto its feet and pounced at the man, knocking him backwards to the ground. Buffy kicked it off the ex watcher and it rolled several paces, came into a crouch and rounded on her with a snarl.

"Kennedy, here's your crossbow." Dawn said, ignoring the commotion behind her. She held out the crossbow with one hand, allowing the bag of weapons to slip from her other shoulder and hit the ground with a loud thud. "Giles made us bring the silver bolts in case they're more useful than the standard ones."

Giles gave a startled shout as he was picked up and thrown away by the wendigo, landing with a loud 'oof' on the concrete mere feet away from the group.

"Giles!" Tara cried and rushed to his aid.

"I'm just gunna go help Buffy…" Cat said and rushed the slayer and the wendigo.

"Willow, you need to get the bolts hot. We need them to be on fire, and then Kennedy? You have to hit him in the heart." Dawn continued as though nothing had happened.

"No pressure." Kennedy muttered, loading the bow. "Are we sure his heart's in the usual place?"

"You'd better hope so." Dawn replied.

"Just keep shooting him until he's dead." Willow told the slayer. Dawn handed over the leather pouch of bolts to Willow, then grabbed a sword for herself from the bag she had brought along.

"Great. We'll try and get him into a position for you." The teen said, and then ran forwards to join her sister and the reaper in fighting the wendigo.

He was twisting and turning every which way, trying to find an opening to flee the fight, sensing he was vastly outnumbered now that the others had turned up. Cat and Buffy were having none of it, forcing him to stay put and fight them.

"Dawn, no, get back!" Buffy cried as the wendigo swiped. He caught the teen on his forearm and used the momentum to throw her aside. Dawn yelped as she hit tarmac and rolled over backwards.

Cat caught a flare of light out of the corner of her eyes and glanced over to where Kennedy and Willow were standing. The silver bolt was aflame and winched back and the slayer was taking aim.

"Buffy, grab 'im." Cat said. As one they seized an arm each of the wendigo and wheeled him about to face Kennedy. Buffy heard the thrum of the bowstring, heard the whistle of fletching as the bolt cut through the air towards the wendigo, who gave an angry roar and pulled her from her feet with tremendous strength into the path of the oncoming projectile. She twisted out of the way in mid-air, felt searing heat across one bicep, heard a thunk as the bolt struck something.

She landed in a crouch and glanced down at herself to see the bolt had opened a line across her arm. It bled freely but she didn't think it was too bad. Could have been worse. The bolt was buried in the rear passenger door of Giles' car, still burning bright.

Kennedy and Willow paused, still mid action pose with Willow handing over the next bolt, as the wendigo sighted angrily on him.

"Uhoh…" Kennedy murmured, seconds before the creature roared at them and started forwards.

"Quick, load it, load it!" Willow told the slayer desperately, thrusting the bolt at her. "Hurry!"

"I am hurrying!" Kennedy snapped, shoving the bolt into position and drawing back the string.

"Hurry faster!"

Buffy and Cat threw themselves into the path of the charging wendigo but he barrelled straight through them, intent on getting to Kennedy. Buffy struck the ground and saw stars. Cat rolled to her feet as she landed and sprinted after him.

The second she saw a flare of light Kennedy grabbed the front of Willow's coat and shoved her as far away as she could. The wendigo slammed straight into the slayer, knocking her from her feet. It was like being hit with a freight train. Or so she imagined in the brief seconds she was airborne. Then they hit the ground and the shock drove the air from her lungs, set the gash in her side throbbing and bleeding again. But already the wendigo was rearing back with a startled shriek, her crossbow bolt buried in his chest. Kennedy tossed aside the crossbow, jerked upright and grabbed the bolt, twisting it further inside the monster. Smoke leaked around the shaft, streamed from his mouth as he burned up from the inside. He gave a single scream of pain and then, without warning, exploded into ash, leaving Kennedy holding a blackened, spent bolt. She coughed in surprise, turned her head and spat ash onto the ground.

"Well," Giles said, climbing to his feet and limping towards her, "at least it's an easy clean up."

"I'm so glad vampires don't explode." Buffy said, pulling a face as she looked over Kennedy, who was covered in ash and still sat on the ground, looking thoroughly disgruntled. Buffy offered her a hand up which Kennedy gladly accepted, wincing as she was hauled onto her feet.

"We should go get you patched up." Cat said. "I've got some duct tape back home."

"Very funny." Kennedy replied drily.

"We should call the police." Tara told them. "There are…dead people in there. I think." She gestured behind herself to the warehouse the wendigo had been hiding inside.

"You think?" Dawn asked.

"There was a skull." Willow said with a shudder.

"Wow…" Dawn said quietly. "Did you touch it?"

"No!" Willow cried, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Call the police." Giles said loudly, interrupting them before they could get side tracked. "We'll tell them we were exploring and stumbled across the skull. Anyone with injuries we can't properly explain," here he eyed up Kennedy and the scarf wrapped around her middle that she had started to bleed through, "I will drive home or to the hospital. Make sure you don't have any weapons on you. And try to be convincing when they turn up."

"Yessir." Cat said, vanishing her sword.

* * *

Dawn, Tara, Willow and Cat stood in front of the warehouse watching as Giles' car sped away through the gates and out onto the road, heading back to the Summers/Rosenberg/McClay household. Kennedy flat out refused to be driven to the hospital for a proper check-up, insisting she could patch herself up. As the sound of the engine faded into the steady hum of late night Cleveland Cat turned to face the others.

"So. What's the story?" She asked.

"Photography shoot?" Dawn suggested.

"Great idea but…where's your camera?" Willow raised an eyebrow at the teen.

"Ghost hunting?" Tara said.

"There aren't any ghosts." Cat pointed out.

"They don't know that." Dawn replied. "It's definitely creepy enough, even without a wendigo hanging around."

"Sounds good to me." Willow said and sighed as she pulled her phone from her pocket. "Guess we'd better call the cops then…"


	22. Epilogue

Dawn stood impatiently tapping her fingertips against the hard surface of the work top as she watched her popcorn slowly rotating on the glass plate inside the microwave. The popping had slowed down somewhat and so she knew it would soon be ready. She grabbed her bowl as the timer wound down, watching the electronic read numbers flick closer and closer to zero. She grabbed the door and opened it before the microwave could even signal it had finished and pulled out the packet of popped kernels, quickly upending it into her bowl and chucking the empty packet in the bin as it burned her fingers.

"Hot, hot, hot." She muttered with a wince, sucking her fingertips as she made her way out of the kitchen and into the living room where the rest of the Scoobies were gathered around a game of Lord of the Rings Risk (at Xander's insistence). Empty pizza boxes were stacked to one side as bowls of corn chips, a box of doughnuts, and now popcorn took their place. The TV was on in the background, volume on low.

"You're on Buffy's team." Xander told her as she set the bowl down on the edge of the coffee table. The stacks of books that had previously swamped the surface had since been put away. Two days had passed since they had defeated the wendigo. The bust lips and cut fingers, the grazes and bruises were still healing. The police still hadn't spun their tale, merely informing the swarming journalists and news crews that a group of trespassers had stumbled across several bodies and that the investigation was ongoing.

"I need a nerd to help me." Buffy announced, leaning forwards to snag a handful of chips.

"Gee, thanks…" Dawn said sarcastically as she joined her sister at one end of the table.

"I really don't see why we can't just play Cluedo." Giles grumbled while surveying the board.

"It'll be fun!" Willow said excitedly, sat cross legged on the floor with Tara. "We can strategize against each other and, oh! Oh! It can be a training exercise!" She grinned up at the ex-Watcher, pleased with herself for finding a lesson in the game.

"I don't think the minions of Hell will be coming at us via board games." Giles told her.

"You never know." Kennedy replied, scrutinizing the tiny plastic army pieces. Cat opened her mouth to disagree with her, and promptly closed it again.

"Actually I wouldn't put it past them." She said fairly.

"Haven't you seen Harry Potter?" Dawn asked him. "Giant chess. You should teach us to play chess."

"Normal chess doesn't beat you up." Cat said before Giles could respond.

"Hey, look!" Willow pointed to the TV. Whatever program had been on before had finished and been replaced by the news. A grim reporter was being filmed in front of the warehouses they had fought the wendigo amongst. Buffy snatched up the TV remote and wound up the volume.

"… _Police have come to the conclusion that the attacks were carried out by a pack of rabid coyotes that dragged their victims to these very warehouses_."

The group stared in silence as the reporter continued, naming the victims and warning viewers to be cautious when out and about at night.

"Rabid…Coyotes…" Buffy repeated, dumbfounded.

"Where do they come up with these things?" Cat asked, caught somewhere between amusement and scorn.

"It's like crocs in sewers." Xander agreed.

"To be fair they can't say what it _really_ is." Dawn said. "No one would believe them."

"… _Paranormal investigation gone wrong_." They grew quiet once more as their attention was drawn back to the TV. The news anchor stared sincerely into the camera as an image of a suitably daunting and overgrown property was brought up on screen. " _Three teenagers were discovered dead after entering the allegedly haunted building. Cause is uncertain and police are investigating_."

Cat glanced at Buffy, raising one eyebrow.

"Here we go again…"

 **The End!**


	23. Author's Note

The bare bones of this fic began at the start of 2015 when I decided I had enjoyed throwing a character I had created purely for the purpose of bringing back Tara into the world of the Scooby Gang so much that I couldn't let her go. In that time so much in my life has changed, a lot of it big stuff, and all for the better. I got out of a bad engagement, cut out toxic people from my life, I left a part time job that was dragging me down, to gain full time employment with the company I've worked part time for since I was 18 (a job I adore!), I gained relative control over crippling anxiety, I made new friends… So while I may not be a stunning author, this fic is pretty important to me and so I thank you for sticking with it and reading to the end!

I don't find much time for writing but I have a lot of ideas I'm hoping to get down in the future, some in the works currently. If you enjoyed this give me a fave and a follow for more Buffy related shenanigans! No more 'own characters' just pure Scooby fun!

Thanks again! And bye for now.

:)


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